Deepest of Horrors
by CocoGirlRevised
Summary: Taken from her home to be forced into piracy, Wren had a rough life, and what little solace she had was taken from her at an early age. Wren grew up with the thought of revenge keeping her going. She surrounds herself with a handful of allies, and hides her heart away in the darkness that cloaks her. Can the Straw Hat Pirates more specifically Sanji bring her back to the light?
1. Wren and Law

Coco: Hello, Readers,

I just wanted all of you to know that my trip was cancelled, so I won't be taking my hiatus. I'm sorry I didn't inform you earlier since I've been a bit busy since last we spoke. Or rather since last I posted. Now, I do have some chapter updates for some stories, but unfortunately not for others. But I have a small schedule like deal or announcements to let you know about the chapters that I don't have new chapters for.

 **Deepest of Horrors:** I'm rewriting this one...again. I'm sorry for all the rewrites. I just feel as if I don't connect well with Wren's character, which is making it difficult to write for her. And here is the first rewritten first chapter even if it's much like the one before. I promise that the second chapter is much different, and shall be posted before the night is up. :D

 **Let It Burn:** I'm halfway through this chapter, and it'll most likely be posted later today or tonight as well.

 **Let the Music Flow From the Soul:** I just need to edit the chapter, and it'll be ready to post, so definitely expect a new chapter from it today! :D

 **Not Such a Small World After All:** Unfortunately, this one will not be ready for a new chapter today or this weekend. But I promise that no later than Wednesday that you will have a new chapter for this story.

 **The Knight of Death City:** This is the same as Not Such a Small World After All.

 **Treble Chamber's Beginning:** I'm thinking about rewriting this before I get too far ahead, so I'm not sure if I'll have a chapter for it for a while.

So, just wanted to give you a rundown of what's going down, and I very happy to say I won't be without getting to post my stories. Or without hearing from all you lovely readers who have supported me for so long.

Declaimer: I do not own One Piece. It belongs to Oda-san:D. I do, however, own my OC Wren, and any other OCs I might plan to add. Anyway, let's get started :D.

* * *

14 YEARS BEFORE STORYLINE

"Abel-nii, wait for me!" A little girl named Wren called as she rushed after her brother through her family's large courtyard.

Her older brother, Abel, laughed with a large grin on his face as he glanced back at his sister. The young girl had red wine colored hair with two different colored eyes. One Black and one red. However, the black eye was behind an eye patch. She had pale skin that was smooth without any imperfections due to her easy life.

Like her, Abel's hair was the red wine color, and it was curly and untamed. However, his hair wasn't long like hers, which currently fell to her waist. His eyes were also a vibrant red, but he always told Wren that her eyes were more beautiful, even the one kept behind the eyepatch that their father made her wear.

Their father, Vladimir, was the lord of their city, and he was very protective of his children. He never let them leave the estate's grounds unless accompanied by at least half a dozen guards, but after Wren had accidently ate that devil fruit, he kept her within the estate grounds at all times. He even covered the eye where the iris had turned black, and told anyone who asked that an accident happened, which is why he keeps Wren at home.

"Come on, Wren, you have to run faster than that!" Abel said with a laugh.

Wren pouted at her brother while trying to get her tiny legs to move faster. Their mother, Xena, laughed from where she sat on the patio with her youngest, Kol, in her arms. He wasn't even a full year old, so he was not yet ready to play with Wren, who's five, and Abel, who's ten. Xena didn't have the same hair color as her children. No, her hair was midnight black, and straight as a pin when left down. However, she usually has her hair up in an elegant bun. Her eyes, however, are the same captivating red, and all her children have them. She was very pale as well, and it was a trait only Wren inherited from her. In fact, many say that Wren looks like a miniature version of her mother just with red wine hair, not black.

Kol had his mother's midnight black hair and of course, her red eyes, but the rest of him was like his father. The tanned skin, and the shape of his nose and mouth. Saturn Vladimir was a handsome man with red wine-colored hair that was short in the back, but his fringe fell down to his chin on either side of his face. His eyes were a dark gray color, and his skin was sun kissed tan. He was tall in stature, and he was muscled, however, he leaned more towards lanky. Abel, besides having red eyes, was the exact copy of his father who was off doing something at the moment.

"Abel-nii!" Wren whined when she still couldn't keep up.

Abel just gave another laugh, but he did start to slow his pace. The two then came to a halt when hearing the explosion, and the family looked to see a large cloud of smoke coming somewhere near the docks.

"Oka-sama, what is that?" Wren asked with a confused frown.

"Abel, grab your sister, and come into the house." Xena ordered as she stood up.

Abel didn't have to be told twice, and he quickly went over to Wren. He gently but firmly grab her arm to pull her inside as more explosions started to happen. The small girl bit her lip hoping no one was being hurt. Once inside, Xena led her two children towards the safe bunker as she carried the third. She didn't know what was going on, but she would not take the chance of her three children being hurt.

"Xena-sama!" Their butler, Marcus, called as he ran up with a few guards on his heels. "Vladimir-sama wishes for you and the children to go down into the underground docks to get away on a boat wanting for you."

Xena's eyes widened though she quickly composed herself as she smiled down at her children. Abel frowned not being fooled by the smile, and Wren didn't feel reassured by it. Xena sighed knowing they wouldn't be convinced since her children were smart enough to know when something was wrong.

"Oka-sama, where's Oto-sama?" Wren asked.

"I'm right here, my lovely. Did you miss me?"

They all turned seeing Vladimir walked towards them with perfect ease on his face. He knelt down in front of Wren, and smoothed her hair from her face. She smiled at him sweetly, and Vladimir smiled at her in return. He scooped her up, and her arms went around his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder. He easily held her small form in one arm as he placed a hand on top Abel's head.

"I will see you off, but then I must return to work." Vladimir said keeping his tone light.

Xena nodded trying to keep the worry off her face as she smiled at her husband. The family was about to head towards the secret staircase that led to a small cavern below where a dock was built. The cavern led out to the ocean, and Vladimir was hoping to get his family away. He didn't want them to know of the dangerous pirates pillaging through the city at this very moment. Before they could even get out of the foyer, the front door bust open with pieces splintering everywhere.

Wren let out a scream along with her mother, and Vladimir quickly covered his family the best he could. Their guards were already surrounding the Saturn Family to protect them. Vladimir set Wren down, and gently tugged her arms away from his neck as he turned to face the pirates. Xena pulled her two children towards here while holding Kol firmly in her other arm. Vladimir stood tall as he walked to stand past the guard to speak with the pirate in front.

"You are the captain of this crew, I take it." Vladimir said.

"I am." The man in front said with a grin. "I'm Donquixote Doflamingo, and I'm only here for one thing. You give it to me, and your city and family will be sparred."

Vladimir frowned wondering what Doflamingo could possibly want from him or this city. It was known for its exquisite art collections due to many artists flocking here, rich resources, and tourist revenue. However, they had nothing of extreme importance.

"And what is it you seek, Sir?" Vladimir asked.

Some of the pirates behind Doflamingo chuckled looking amused, and Vladimir narrowed his eyes wondering what they found amusing.

"We want the Devil Fruit you have hidden in your vault." Doflamingo said.

Vladimir stiffened for a split second, but he kept his eyes off of Wren because that would give her away. The Devil Fruit that these pirates wanted was already consumed by the young girl.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I cannot give you that Devil Fruit." Vladimir said. "For you see, I no longer have it."

Doflamingo narrowed his eyes at Vladimir who kept his expression blank. The tall blonde man then glanced at Valdimir's family.

"Gladius." He said.

A man with pale purple stepped up to raise a gun at Vladimir's family. He pulled the trigger without further warning.

"NO!" Vladimir shouted.

Xena screamed kneeling down to shield her children. However, what was hit wasn't her or her children. Everything froze as a large black menacing shape appeared in front of the family. It roared when the bullet hit it, but more in outrage than pain. The monsters disappeared leaving Wren there holding out her hand with her eyes closed. When she opened them she saw her father looking at her in horror...had she done something wrong?

"Oh...I see." Doflamingo said as he chuckled. "You really can't give us the Devil Fruit because your daughter ate it...we'll take her then."

Said girl stiffened with her eyes going wide, and Xena gasped while clutching her daughter closer. Abel stepped in front of his sister protectively, which earned a chuckle from Doflamingo. Vladimir had went rigid, and the usual warm glow in his eyes turned icy hard as his mouth set into a firm line.

"Pardon me, sir, but did I hear you right?" Vladimir asked with a dark tone. "You want to take my daughter."

"That's right." Doflamingo said grinning still. "We were coming for the Horā-Horā no Mi, but since she apparently ate it we'll be taking her."

"I believe you are mistaken if you think you can come into my city, killing the people within, and take my daughter without consequence." Vladimir said as his guards pulled out their swords.

Marcus held out the sheathed sword with the family crest on the hilt to Vladimir, and the lord of the city drew it from the sheath. The pirates laughed at the men in front of them, and Wren whimpered not wanting to watch her father fight and get hurt.

"This is your only chance to hand her over before I kill every last person in this city." Doflamingo said. "Including women and children."

"And this, Sir, is your last chance to leave my city before I kill you." Vladimir said.

Doflamingo chuckled before raising his hand, and the guards stiffened up suddenly. They then turned on Vladimir causing his eyes to widen. They started attacking, and Vladimir quickly fended them off.

"What are you doing?" Vladimir asked parring away another blade.

"We're sorry, sir!" One guard said. "We can't control our bodies!"

Vladimir frowned then kept fending away the blades that came out him, but he did not go on the offense.

"If you keep that up, you'll die." Doflamingo said. "What's wrong, Lord Vladimir? Can't kill your own men?"

Vladimir grit his teeth together, but he refused to cause harm to the guards. He grunted in pain when one of them managed to cut a deep gash in his chest. He stumbled slightly as blood spewed from his chest.

"Vlad!" Xena cried with tears in her eyes.

Kol had long started crying due to the noise, and Wren, who was also crying, and Abel, who was stone-faced, watched silently. Vladimir spared his family one of his warm smiles as he turned towards them.

"Do not worry, my darlings." He said. "Everything is alright. It is merely a scratch."

He then had to dodge a sword that had been going for his neck. He knocked a few of the guards back, but they would get right back up to fight. He was cut in the shoulder with more of his blood hitting the ground. Wren watched feeling completely horrified as she watched her father's blood stain the floor, hear her mother and younger brother cry, and feel Abel shaking beside her. She couldn't let this go on.

"STOP!"

At her cry everyone froze before turning to look at her as she stepped away from her family. They reached for her, but two large monsters blocked their path.

"I...I will go with you." Wren said. "As long as you promise no harm will come to my family or the people of the city."

"Wren, no!" Vladimir shouted.

Her mother and brother called for her two, but she kept her eyes on Doflamingo. He stared at her a moment before he lowered his hand, which had the guard going slack. Vladimir went to get his daughter since he no longer had to worry about fighting the guards, but a large frightening black monster blocked his path. It snarled at him threateningly as Wren looked up at Doflamingo.

"You will be part of my crew, and be loyal to me." Doflamingo said to Wren. "If you aren't, I will come back to slaughter everyone, understand?"

Wren swallowed thickly as the tears continued down her face, but she nodded her head firmly. Doflamingo nodded in return before turning Gladius.

"Gladius." Was all he said.

Gladius, went over to Wren, and he picked the five-year-old girl off the ground. Wren, not really caring he was part of the pirate crew taking her away at the moment, buried her face into his neck, so she wouldn't have to see her family's hurt and stunned faces. She didn't want that to be her last image of them until they met again...if they ever did.

* * *

"This is going to be your room from now on, Wren." Doflamingo said.

Wren looked around her new room. It wasn't much. Just a small little piece of space that she would have to share with the other kids. However, she supposed she should be grateful for any place to sleep.

"Thank-you." Wren said keeping her head down.

Doflamingo chuckled while patting her on the head, and it took everything she had not to flinch. She had to be brave and strong now for her family. She couldn't show this man fear.

"Just remember this is where you belong." He said. "You are a member of this crew. A part of the family."

Wren nodded her head knowing that she'd never truly see her real family again. The man knelt down to look her in the eyes, but his own were covered by glasses.

"And remember what will happen if you ever try to leave." He said.

"...I will remember...Doflamingo-sama." She said.

Donquixote Doflamingo grinned patting the girl on the head once more.

"Good." He said. "Don't worry, Wren, you'll like it here."

He then left the room leaving Wren there to her own thoughts. As she looked around she knew one thing for sure. She would not be here forever...she would make Doflamingo pay for taking her away from her family...for everything. She just had to find a way to get away.

* * *

SEVEN MONTHS LATER

Wren was cleaning up the 'headquarters' since she had nothing better to do when the front door opened. Diamante and Trebol came in through the door, and Wren blinked when seeing a boy with them. He looked about ten or eleven, and he was very dirty looking. He also looked quite scary with the way his eyes were hooded due to his hat.

"Welcome back, Diamante-sama, Trebol-sama." Wren said politely as always.

Diamante pat the girl on the head, and it took everything she had not to flinch.

"Wren, this is, uh...Law." Diamante said as he and Trebol sat down on the ratty furniture. "He wants to join the crew. Law, this is Wren. She's a kid as you can see, but she's survived..."

Wren blinked curiously at Law, and he looked back at her curiously as well. Wren offered a shy sweet smile, which seemed to shock Law as his eyes widened.

"Hello." She said. "It is nice to meet you."

Law nodded curtly, and that's when Buffalo and Baby5 appeared in the window.

"That's Buffalo and Baby5." Wren said to Law. "They are the only other children here...besides, Dellinger, but he just turned one."

Law frowned in confusion at why a pirate crew would take in a baby. It'd get in the way, right?

"Niin, Diamante-sama, Trebol-sama!" Buffalo called.

"Cora-san is back!" Baby5 said.

Law noticed how Wren stiffened at the mention of this 'Cora-san' as the door opened again. Wren had to jump practically right into Law to avoid the blonde man that tripped on his way into the room.

"U...uh, C-corazon-sama, a-a-re y-you al-alright?" Wren asked hesitantly as she leaned over to look at the man.

Her answer was a slap to the face, and she hit the ground harshly. Law stared in surprise as the man got up off the ground as Baby5 and Buffalo laughed at him for tripping. Corazon slapped the both of them too before going to sit down in the spare chair. Law could understand why he hit the two who laughed at him, but he didn't understand why he hit Wren. He watched the girl get off the ground as she rubbed her cheek.

"I am glad you came back safely, Corazon-sama." Wren said with no sarcasm or malice in her tone. "Would you like some tea?"

Corazon nodded his head in a curt manner without speaking, which had Law frowning curiously.

"I will immediately get you some." Wren promised him then looked at Law. "I hope you like it here...Law-san. Good luck."

Wren walked away with Law's eyes following after her. What a weird girl.

Law, who had been with the Donquixote Pirates for nearly a month now, stood outside a large steel door. He had witnessed Wren being placed behind this door a few days earlier by Diamante. He hasn't seen her since.

"Law, what are you doing here?" Baby5 asked. "It's lunch time."

"Why is Wren-san inside?" Law asked.

Baby5 frowned as she glanced around as if looking for any of the adults.

"Wren didn't join the crew willingly." Baby5 said when seeing the ghost was clear. "She was blackmailed by the Young Master to join...Doflamingo-sama is trying to get her to understand that she belongs to the crew now...so when she acts up for even the littlest things..."

Baby5 trailed off as she looked to the large steel door with a sad look on her face.

"She gets thrown inside." Law put together. "Does she get fed while she's in there?"

Baby5 shook her head vigorously as she clasped her hands together in front of her.

"She's just sits in the dark the entire time...and she's not allowed a meal while inside." Baby5 said. "No light can get into the room while the door is shut...at first...she used to scream and cry and beg to be let out...now she takes her punishment silently."

Law frowned because none of that sounded fair, and it was very unhealthy for Wren to be starved...as an aspiring doctor he couldn't turn a blind eye to this.

* * *

Wren whimpered sitting in the dark room alone. She had accidently angered Diamante, and it was all just because she brought him the wrong tea, so here she was again. She hated it in here...she was terrified in here, and she just wanted out. When she heard the door creak she stiffened, and her eyes widened when seeing Law stepping in with a tray of food. He walked forward to set it down in front of her.

"It's unhealthy to go without food." He said.

Wren was surprised because Law has never shown any kindness or friendliness to anyone in the crew. In fact, not even a week ago he threatened to kill Corazon...why was he being nice to her.

"Go on." He urged.

He pushed the tray towards her even more with his foot. Wren blinked thinking this might be a trick, but she saw no reason that Law would try such a thing on her. She very cautiously reached forward to take a piece of bread off of the tray. Law watched her eat a moment while nodding in satisfaction. He closed the door behind him putting them in complete darkness, but he brought out a flashlight to turn on. He set it to the side to give them some light.

"How'd you end up in here?" Law asked. "Baby5 said it was for punishment."

"I brought Diamante-sama the wrong tea." Wren said softly.

Law's nose wrinkled...she was punished for something as stupid as that? Law just shook his head as Wren continued to eat.

"Baby5 also said you didn't join the crew willingly." Law said.

Wren paused in eating to look down at her lap as if it had become very interesting. Law waited while trying to remain patient though patience wasn't his strong suit.

"...No..." Wren said finally. "I joined to protect my family. Doflamingo-sama said if I joined the crew that he wouldn't kill them."

Ah, that explained so much. Law always wondered how someone like Wren ended up here. She was too sweet and innocent...and too proper for a pirate. It made more sense that she was hear against her will than her joining willingly.

"But why would he want you?" Law asked. "You obviously aren't a fighter."

"I ate the Horā-Horā no Mi*." Wren, who took no offence to Law's blunt statement, explained. "He had wanted the fruit, but once he realized I ate it, he took me instead."

Law nodded guessing this Devil Fruit must be pretty important for Doflamingo to bring Wren along just to have the power in his possession.

"I really don't want to be here." Wren said. "...And the moment I get the chance...I'm going to get out of here...no matter what."

* * *

PRESENT

Trafalgar Law sighed running a hand through his messy black hair as he sat up in bed. He had stayed up all last night again, and had tried to get some sleep. However, sleep was still evading him. He shook his head while reaching for his hat that was sitting on his desk by his bed. He was putting it on top his head when his door burst open.

"Shachi, Penguin, what did I tell you about knocking?" Law asked as he frowned.

"Sorry, Captain." Penguin said.

"But you told us to tell you immediately if there was any word or news on Saturn Wren." Shachi finished. "She made the front page of the newspaper."

Law turned towards them with a quirked brow. What could Wren have done to wind up on the front page of the newspaper? She never liked the spotlight. Shachi held out the paper to Law who took it. He read the headline with his eyes widening partially.

" ** _Saturn Wren Leaves Donquixote Pirates_.** " Law read. " ** _Saturn Wren, also known as the Princess of Horrors, defected from the Donquixote Pirates without warning. The marines, who do not know why she suddenly vanished, have reinstated her bounty with a promise to double it for anyone who brings her in alive_.** "

Law looked at the wanted poster they had put on the page. It was when Wren was much younger. However, anyone would be able to tell it was her if they compared it to her older self. His lips turned up into slight smirk as he chuckled.

"Captain?" Penguin asked curiously.

Law didn't answer as he set the paper down on top of his desk out of the way.

"You two can leave." Law said.

Shachi and Penguin left immediately knowing his suggest was more of an order. Law sat on the end of his bed with his fingers clasped together as he rested his chin on them.

"Finally decided to run, huh?" Law murmured. "It took you long enough, Wren. Nearly eleven years too late."

Law sighed once more then reached towards his desk to pull open a drawer. He reached inside to pull out a small old and worn photo. In the photo was a 13-year-old Law, an 8-year-old Wren, and a man that cared for them. Law was scowling with a light blush on his cheeks as Wren hugged him frown behind with her head resting on his shoulder. She was smiling widely despite the scowl being sent in her direction. Knelt behind them placing bunny ears behind their heads was a blonde man, who was grinning broadly, with his face painted. He remembers that day quite well.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Law was grumbling as he walked along Corazon. He had a displeased expression on his face as he looked around at all the noise. Corazon thought it'd be a nice change of pace to go somewhere fun to lift Law's spirits. Really he was just annoyed by it all. However, Wren seemed intrigued by the festival going around them._

 _"Law, come on, have some fun." Corazon said grinning down at him. "It's a festival."_

 _Law's frown just deepened then was placed by surprise when Wren latched onto him._

 _"Niisan~" She sang smiling at him. "Smile!"_

 _"No." Law sat stubbornly._

 _Wren pouted at Law as Corazon chuckled at the pair of them. Wren was constantly trying to cheer Law up, but he would have none of that. Wren looked around for something to do that might put Law in better spirits. She saw a man taking pictures for people. She smiled brightly while clapping._

 _"Cora-san, can we take a picture?" Wren asked as she looked up at the tall blonde._

 _Corazon looked over to where Wren pointed to watch a couple getting a photo from the photographer. He smiled at Wren nodding his head. She thanked him while grabbing Law's hand._

 _"Wah!" He gasped in surprise as he was pulled along._

 _Wren went up to the man then tugged on his sleeve. He looked down at the young teen and the little girl as she smiled up at him._

 _"Sir, could you take a picture of my Onii-san, Cora-san, and I?" She asked politely._

 _"Of course, little lady." The man said grinning at her. "Just go stand over there for me."_

 _He pointed to where he had a backdrop set up, and Wren made Law come over with her._

 _"Wren, I don't want to do this." Law said frowning._

 _"Too bad!" Wren said as she placed her hands on her hips. "We are going to do this."_

 _Corazon just knelt down behind while watching in amusement. Whenever Wren put her hands on her hips she meant serious business._

 _"Why?" Law said._

 _"So, if anything ever happens to one of us, the others will have something to remember of the one of us who is gone." Wren said seriously._

 _Law looked at Wren surprised because he thought it was going to be some kind of stupid reason she wanted a picture._

 _"Now, smile!" Wren said as she put her arms around him._

 _Law scowled at her as she smiled at the camera with Corazon who was making bunny ears behind their heads. The flash went off, but Law's eyes remained on Wren._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Law stared at the image one last time then put it away back in his drawer. He stared at the wall across from him knowing that Wren would most likely try to find him now that she's out of Grand Line.

* * *

Coco: I hope you liked the first chapter's newest rewrite. I know it was more centered around Wren and Law, but I just wanted to show a bit of Wren's past before going into the main storyline. And Law is part of her past. Anyway, next chapter Wren will meet the Straw Hats!

Horā-Horā no Mi means the Horror-Horror Fruit. It will be explained later all of its powers through other chapters.

Imōto-little sister


	2. Devil Fruits and Rookie Pirates

Coco: So this is a rewritten chapter two. I'm hoping in this one to show a darker side to Wren. Like before I always felt like I made her a bit too "nice" considering what background she came from. And this Wren isn't going to share as much information about her past as the other Wrens from previous story attempts. And this Wren is going to have her own informants and allies that answer to her instead of Doflamingo. Like, she has learned his ways of doing business gathering information and resources and such, so I want to show that in this new attempt of a story. And I really feel as if I've finally gotten Wren's character the way I want it. So hopefully no more rewrites. Now let's get this chapter started!

* * *

THREE MONTHS LATER

On a warm spring island on the Grand Line, Saturn Wren sat out on a beach chair overlooking her papers of information. A large umbrella was shading her and the table beside her that was holding her drink. It's been three months since she left her crew, and so far she hasn't been found. Though coming here of all places might change that, but she needed to be here to "catch up" with some "old friends" who better not be late. Not that they knew they were going to meet her here.

"Wren-sama,"

Wren turned her head seeing Lefaye Raelin walking towards her. Raelin has been one of Wren's informants for many years. Wren met Raelin while at one of the many kingdoms that Doflamingo sells weapons too, and Wren had ended up saving Raelin's life. Wren used to handle most business transactions since people knew not to cross her due to her power. Wren also was in charge of many Donquixote informants that were spread throughout the sea to gather information that could be useful to Doflamingo. Some were loyal to Doflamingo, but others like Raelin only felt loyal to Wren, which is why Raelin is helping Wren out.

"Yes, Raelin?" Wren asked.

"I thought you would like to look at today's latest wanted posters, Wren-sama." Raelin said as she held out the wanted posters for Wren.

Wren thanked Raelin then took a look at the posters to see if any bounties went up, or if anyone new was now on the marine's radar. Wren shifted through the posters before stopping on the poster that had a new face on it.

"Monkey D. Luffy?" Wren murmured. "30 million is a high bounty for a rookie from the East Blue, isn't it, Raelin?"

"I believe so, ma'am." Raelin replied.

Wren then set the wanted posters the side while giving a small sigh. Three months…three months since she left the Donquixote Family, and what has she done? Sit around looking information and data she already knew like the back of her hand. Yes, she has gathered more information since her departure, and she's now working on something that was going to piss Doflamingo off royally, and help give her an edge hopefully. However, that's just about all she's done in all this time. She really should be out sailing the waters in search for Law. But she was here stalling, which was really pathetic of her. Was she that afraid to face Law after making him wait eleven years for her?...Maybe a bit.

"Wren-sama, is something wrong?" Raelin asked.

"No." Wren said as she stood up from her chair. "I was just thinking that it was time I get a move on with my plans. I cannot continue sailing around aimlessly and hoping by some miracle that Law comes across me. I need to find him, so we can compare notes."

Then they would take their time to get the power and resources to take down Doflamingo and the empire he loves so much.

"I understand, Wren-sama, but without a crew and especially a navigator sailing on these waters can be dangerous." Raelin said. "You are a very strong pirate. However, you still need help. You shouldn't have to shoulder everything alone! Let me come with you."

Wren looked at Raelin softly while reaching out to give Raelin's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Raelin, I know you want to help, and the best way for you to do that is to continue gathering information." Wren said. "Doflamingo doesn't know that you're real loyalty lies with me, which means you can move freely through the underground to gather up for intel for me on the man named Joker, which is the alias he goes by."

Raelin frowned while looking down at the sandy beach floor. She knew Wren was right, but she still wished to travel with Wren to help her through her journey of the Grand Line.

"Then please wait for some find of crew to come to this island to hitch a ride with them!" Raelin begged.

"A group of sailors isn't going to let a want criminal on their ship." Wren pointed out. "And pirates who are smart enough won't try to upset Doflamingo, which means they'd turn me in rather than help. Besides, I don't want to push any of my problems onto anyone more people than I already have."

Raelin bit her lip wanting to insist that Wren sail alone, but Raelin didn't want to push too far.

"Anyway I need to take care of business on this island before I can even think of leaving. My four o'clock appointment should be here at any moment." Wren said. "Please, have a small boat ready for me by morning."

"As you wish, Wren-sama." Raelin said as she dipped her head.

Raelin went off to ensure what Wren wanted was done as Wren grabbed her holster that was just a black belt that had a loop on the right side for her to place her katana. She put her belt around her waist before grabbing her top hat to place on top her head. As she made sure her hat was straight, the sounds of shouting and running footsteps reached her ears. She turned her head seeing the pirate crew she was waiting for heading her way. They were a crew that sailed with the Donquixote Family Jolly Rodger, and they had something that she could use.

"The devil fruits they've gathered better be worth my wile." Wren said as they continued to charge her.

She better not have risked coming to a trade island that Doflamingo uses regularly only to gain worthless devil fruits.

"Saturn Wren, one of my scouts told me you were on this island!" The captain of the crew, Boris, shouted. "Don't think we'll let you get away with your life for betraying Doflamingo-sama!"

Wren didn't look all that worried as she calmly pulled her katana from its sheath. The katana, which was made of a special property from the North Blue, had a phantom white blade that glistened in the sunlight. It was known as a curse blade that was said to have the screams of all its victims stored within its metal for the rest of forever. In fact, this blade screams to this very day.

"Don't you know _dearest Doffy_ wishes for me to be captured alive, so he can punish me personally?" Wren asked casually.

Boris just gave a shout of attack right when he and his men were practically on top of Wren. However, they were suddenly blasted back by a cutting force. A second later Wren was sheathing her katana as if she hadn't even attacked.

"Now, scream." Wren said as her sheath clicked back into its sheath.

A high pitched screaming hit the air where the pirates were, and they all cried out while covering their eardrums, which were bleeding along with all the gashes appearing on their bodies. They soon started dropping like flies to the ground. After they all had fallen a small breeze blew over the island to send the Sakura petals falling. Wren brushed her hair back from her face as the breeze picked it up to blow around her. Wren stepped over the bodies of the flunkies until she reached Boris. She crouched down in front of him while mindful of her skirt.

"Now, Boris-san, you're going to tell me where you keep those devil fruits on your ship." Wren said. "And I suggest you do tell me."

"Doflamingo-sama would kill me if I tell you." Boris wheezed out.

Wren lifted her eyepatch in warning, but kept her eye shut. Boris shuttered knowing what was behind that closed lid.

"Believe me, Boris, there are fates far worse than death." Wren said. "And I can promise you that once I'm done forcing the information out of you that you'll be wishing you were dead. Now, I know you hide the devil fruits you find for Doflamingo here until you can collect enough to take to him directly. I just need the location, so I don't have to search this island and waste time that I really don't have since I'm sure you contacted Doflamingo the second you learned I was here. So speak now, or forever hold your peace, which means you'll be screaming too much to even talk properly."

Boris gulped looking at Wren in fear as she narrowed that one vibrant red eye at him. He knew she meant business. No one defies Saturn Wren because of how terrifying her power is.

"They're on our ship. In a small crate in the cargo hole." Boris said finally. "We were here to pick them up to take to Doflamingo-sama when one of my crewmen spotted you."

"Anyone more men on your ship I need to worry about if I set foot on it?" Wren asked.

"No." Boris said as he shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't be easy to fight, so I brought all my men with me to try and capture you."

Wren hummed in acknowledgement to what he said. She was a bit surprised he had the brains to know just a few men wouldn't do. Of course it wasn't like all this men coming after her helped him much. Though he could be lying to her, and there actually could be more men on his ship.

"If you lied to me, and I have to fight to get to those devil fruits, I will come back here, Boris." Wren said. "And it won't be to kill you."

Boris flinched at her threat knowing that promising not to kill him didn't mean he was going to be alright. He knew she'd make him pay for deceiving her if he did.

"I'm not lying!" Boris swore.

Wren didn't reply to his statement as she finally stood up off the ground. With a swift kick she knocked Boris out, so he'd still be here if she had to come back to deal with him.

"They came at me from that direction." Wren said pointing east. "So they're ship is most likely docked just over those large rocks."

She started heading in that direction, and after climbing up one of the large rocks, she saw Boris's ship docked by the shore. She stared at the ship a moment while trying to look for any signs of people on or near the ship. She didn't "hear" any "voices", so she assumed that Boris was telling her the truth. She went down to the ship to climb on board before heading to where the cargo hole should be. Once reaching there, she looked around for any signs of a crate that might carry the devil fruit.

She saw one crate that was a smaller than the rest sitting on top of a larger crate. It had Donquixote's Jolly Rodger on the side of it, so Wren went to check it out. She popped the latches on the crate then opened it up to see four different devil fruit inside. It didn't seem like much. However, finding this many natural devil fruit in the span of a year was actually pretty impressive. Especially if they were the rare kind that Doflamingo liked to get his hands on to either sale for big bucks, or to strengthen his crew.

"But he won't be doing that this time." Wren said. "And if these devil fruits are rare, I'm sure the marines would pay handsomely for them. Even if the payment I want isn't beries."

Wren closed the lid to the crate while deciding to do the research on these devil fruits later. It wasn't like she had what she needed to research them at the moment anyway. She was about to carry off with devil fruit, but paused when seeing another small crate barely sticking out in between some other crates.

"Now what could that be?" She asked herself.

She set the crate in her arms down to go investigate the other crate. She had to pull a little hard to get it loose, but once she did manage to pull it out, she saw another Doflamingo Pirate Jolly Rodger on the side.

"Oh, Boris, you didn't tell me about this." Wren said. "It seems we're going to have to talk."

Wren opened up the crate to see another devil fruit was inside. If it was by itself and hidden that meant it had to be important.

"Doflamingo is going to be very unhappy when he doesn't receive this precious cargo." Wren said as she grinned.

She closed the crate up then placed it on top of the other crate of devil fruits. She picked them up to carry them off the ship. She set them down on the beach then held out her hand.

"Horā-Horā: Fire Beast." Wren said.

Beside her a large flame-breathing dragon like creature appeared while baring his fangs and letting out a low snarl.

"Burn it down." Wren ordered.

The scaly beast took in a deep breath before letting out a flaming inferno that engulfed Boris's ship. Now Boris wouldn't be getting off the island any time soon, and whatever valuables that could have went to Doflamingo were now gone. Wren was going to do everything she can to lessen the cash flow into Doflamingo's pockets, or lessen the about of resources he gets like weaponry, devil fruits, etc. She was going to try and weaken him even if slowly. Though she knew stealing a few devil fruits here and there from him won't do much due to Caesar Clown being able to make artificial ones. However, this would surely piss him off, which she'll accept for now.

Wren was brought out of her thoughts when her dragon-like friend nudged her gently with its nose. Wren looked at the beast then pet its scaly nose, which had it making a happy humming noise. As she pet its nose, she noticed very dark, foreboding storm clouds in the distance. She hoped the storm cleared before she sailed off in the morning. She needed to get off this island before Doflamingo, or a member of the Family reached here.

"And we can't have any of them catching up to me just yet." Wren said.

* * *

Wren, who had taken off her eyepatch and put a pair of glasses on her nose, sat in the small lonely shack on this island in a rickety chair as she was reading a devil fruit encyclopedia. Those devil fruits she got earlier were laid out in front of her as she was trying to identify them. There was also a small oil lamp on the table, which was the only source of light. Outside the storm that spread from part of the ocean to over the island could be heard raging on. It shook the shack a bit, but otherwise the foundation remained sturdy.

"Any luck, Wren-sama?" Raelin asked from where she saw by the window to watch the storm.

"I identified three of them." Wren said. "The Neko-Neko no Mi*; Model: Tiger, the Kōkan-Kōkan no Mi*, and finally the Shūri-Shūri no Mi*."

The Neko-Neko no Mi wasn't anything too special, but the last two could prove to be very useful to the eater of the devil fruits. She was sure the marines would do a trade off with her gladly for these two. Now she just had to identify the last two, and the one in a crate all its own was the one she's the most interested in.

"Wren-sama, there's a ship!" Raelin called out suddenly.

Wren closed her black-iris eye then looked at Raelin, who was looking out the window with wide eyes, curiously.

"A ship in this weather?" Wren asked as she stood up.

She looked out the window herself seeing that there was indeed a ship, and there were crewmen hastily docking it on the shoreline. She guessed the crew must have gotten caught in that awful storm, and was forced to dock here. Wren narrowed her red eye hoping to get a better look though it was so dark and rainy that it was hard to.

"I think they're flying a Jolly Rodger, Wren-sama." Raelin, who had her face pressed against the glass, said.

"Pirates?" Wren murmured as she took off her glasses to place in her pocket. "I highly doubt they're Doflamingo's flunkies."

Wren then went over to grab her cloak off the coat hanger to put it over her. She pulled the hood up then put her eyepatch back in place.

"Stay here, Raelin." Wren said. "I'll go check out these pirates."

Raelin nodded her head then watched as Wren left the shack. Wren walked through the rain and harsh winds towards the docking pirate ship. As she got closer, one of the crewmen whirled around while unsheathing his sword threateningly.

"Who goes there?" He asked with a deep voice. "You looking for trouble?"

His companions turned to look at Wren as well as she stopped two yards away from them.

"Funny I was going to ask you the same thing." Wren said then pulled down her hood to reveal her face.

"It's a beautiful lady!" The blonde man said looking awestruck.

Wren sweat-dropped wondering what his deal was, but said nothing as she kept her eye on the one with a sword.

"I only came to see what a ship was doing out here in this weather." Wren said honestly. "I guess it was the storm that forced you onto this island."

The swordsman stared at Wren a moment longer before he sheathed his sword as if he decided she wasn't there to cause them trouble.

"Yeah, that's what happened." A boy in a straw hat said nodding.

Wren tilted her head curiously at this boy while certain she's seen his face before. She then blinked as she realized he was that Monkey D. Luffy from the East Blue...one of the rookie pirate rising stars.

"Hey, are there any doctors on this island?" A long-nosed man asked.

They needed a doctor? Wren was a bit confused by this because she would think that a pirate crew who made it this far would have a doctor by now. In fact, they should have gotten a doctor before they even decided to put up a Jolly Rodger and sail these waters.

"No, there aren't any." Wren said. "This island is inhabited. Only the occasional pirate ship or trade ship stops by from time to time."

What she said seemed to worry the men because they all exchanged worried glances. Wren sighed feeling a bit sorry for this crew of rookies. They obviously didn't know what to do.

"However, I do have a bit of medical knowledge." Wren said. "I don't know if it will be of much help to you though."

"Really?!" Luffy asked. "Thanks a lot, Onna-san. Nami has a really high fever, and Vivi said something about a possible infection."

Wren frowned because neither of those things sounded good. In fact, as far as sickness goes, fevers are what kills many seafaring men and women.

"If she's running a fever, staying on a damp ship in the middle of a storm isn't good for her." Wren said. "There's a small shack here on this island. It isn't much, but it's dry and warm. Cover your friend to keep the rain off of her as much as possible then move her to the shack. Just follow the source of light. I'll go ahead to get the bed ready for her."

"Okay!" Luffy said nodding. "Sanji, Usopp, let's help Vivi move Nami."

The two men he spoke two, which where the blonde and long-nose nodded their heads as they followed him onto the ship. Wren glanced at the swordsman who didn't move.

"I suppose you could follow me up to the shack." Wren said. "My associate is already up there waiting for my return."

Wren then walked away not waiting for a reply. She felt the man watching her for a moment before she sensed that he was following. She went up to the shack while opening the door to see Raelin waiting by the window still.

"We'll be having guests." Wren said as she was taking her cloak off. "Please, prepare the underground chambers, so they will have places to rest. One is sick, so I will be preparing the bed up here for her, which means I'll need warm, dry blankets."

"Yes, Wren-sama." Raelin said then went to the trap door in the shack.

She opened it up as the swordsman came into the shack. Raelin went down the stairs that took led to the underground area that usually stored merchandise and other goods for Doflamingo for a few days before another ship can come to pick them up to take directly to Dressrosa. The men who work for Doflamingo's trade also sleep down there when they have to. Like during storms like the one is happening now.

"So it's only you and that girl on this island?" The swordsman asked as Raelin popped back out of the trapdoor to hand clean linen to Wren, so she could make the bed.

"Wren-sama and I are only staying here temporarily." Raelin said then went back down.

The swordsman's brow quirked wondering why the two women were on this island at all.

"I plan to set out to sea in the morning when the storm is hopefully over." Wren explained to the swordsman as she was fixing up the bed. "Raelin will leave soon after that to return to her home island."

Then Wren would start her search for Law. Of course, Wren could just head to Sabaody Archipelago then wait for him there because he has to go there sooner or later before heading to Fishman Island, which will start his journey to the new world. As Wren was finishing making the bed, the door opened with the other pirates walking into the shack. Luffy was carrying the person, who Wren guessed was Nami, and she was covered up well as Wren had instructed she be.

"Set her here." Wren said as she pulled back the covers.

Luffy walked over to the bed, and with the help of Wren they got Nami situated on the bed comfortably. Wren looked down at Nami already telling her fever had to be on the dangerous levels by how sweaty and flushed she looked.

"Could one of you fetch a bucket of cold water?" Wren asked as she sat down next to Nami. "We have to keep her cooled down as much as possible. If her temperature is as high as I think it is, she risks receiving brain damage because the brain will literally start to fry due to the fever plaguing her at the moment."

"Oh no!" Luffy explained. "Nami's brain is going to fry?!"

The blonde and Long-nose started panicking, which had Wren sighing…. _rookies_ ….It's almost sad how easily riled up and panicked they can get.

"Please, calm down." Wren said. "All this screaming and panicking will only make things worse."

Her words instantly had them shutting up, and they placed their hands over their mouths for good measure.

"Now, there's a bucket just outside the shack's door." Wren said. "It has probably collected a lot of rain water from the storm, which will have to do since trying to get to the island's river would be near impossible in this storm. One of you please grab it."

"I got it." Long-nose said.

He went to the door to open it up, and grab the bucket. As he was doing that Wren noticed the blue-haired girl and her duck near the door. The girl must be the Vivi mentioned by Luffy.

"Here you go." Long-nose said as he walked over to the bed with the bucket.

He set it down next to Wren, who thanked him for grabbing it, before Wren ripped off a piece of one of the extra sheets Raelin had handed to her. She put the piece of sheet into the water for a moment before placing it on Nami's head to cool her down a bit.

"Can you tell what's wrong with her?" Vivi asked stepping up.

"Not until I examine her." Wren said. "And while doing that the gentlemen will have to leave the room before I will most likely have to remove her clothes partially, so I can check everywhere on her. If it's an infection or if she was bitten by something, I'll have to check thoroughly."

Vivi nodded her head in understanding as Raelin came out from the underground chambers.

"The beds are ready as requested." Raelin said smiling.

"Good, please show the gentlemen down to where they can rest." Wren said.

Raelin nodded her head obediently then gestured for the men to follow her. The swordsmen and long-nose followed immediately, but Luffy and the blonde paused for a moment.

"Hey, Onna-san, what's your name?" Luffy asked.

"Wren." Wren replied while leaving out her surname.

Luffy then grinned broadly at Wren, and his grin was so wide it nearly looked as if his face might split in half.

"Thanks, Wren!" Luffy said. "Please, make Nami a bit better!"

He then told the blonde to come along, and he did follow albeit reluctantly. Once they were down below, Wren turned her attention back to Nami.

"Can you tell me if one specific place hurts the most?" Wren asked to save time in just searching randomly.

"My…stomach." Nami wheezed out. "Outside."

Wren assumed the sickly woman went the outside of her stomach, so Wren pulled down the covers then lifted Nami's shirt up. Wren saw an infected area immediately, which had her frowning. She glanced back at Vivi as Raelin was coming up the stairs.

"Did you go anywhere hot and tropical by any chance?" Wren asked.

"Yes, we were in Little Garden before ending up here." Vivi explained.

Wren sighed knowing that Nami was most likely bitten by one of those prehistoric bugs, which was causing her high fever.

"Do you know what ails her, Wren-sama?" Raelin asked.

"She was bitten by some kind of bug, which is causing the infection in her stomach that is in turn causing her dangerously high fever." Wren said. "And since this infectious bug bite came from Little Garden it is unlikely any doctor would have the antidote since everywhere else whatever bit her is instinct."

Vivi gasped covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"No, there has to be something we can do!" Vivi said. "Some kind of doctor must have some kind of cure for Nami! Can't you do anything?"

"As I said I'm not a doctor." Wren said.

Vivi stared down at Nami really wondering if the young Navigator was really doomed. This couldn't be how Nami's adventure on the Grand Line ended!

"What do we do?" Vivi cried as she covered her face with her hands.

Wren looked at the girl in front of her who was looking so desperate, and gave a sigh. Seeing a person desperate and unsure of what to do isn't something Wren hasn't seen before. In fact, she's quite used to the sight.

"Wren-sama, what about Dr. Kureha?" Raelin suggested suddenly.

Wren hummed lightly in a thoughtful manner as Vivi looked between the two women in confusion.

"It's a possibility she has something that could save the girl." Wren said. "She could have saved some kind of medicine from back when it was carried regularly by doctors."

However, she knew the chances were still slim, and getting onto the island Kureha resides was a difficulty in itself.

"Even if it's a long shot, it's the best chance this girl has." Wren said as she looked at Nami. "Going to Drum Island to visit the Witch Doctor is the only opinion. However, this girl might not last long till then. The storm will keep the crew here all night then it takes about half a day to get to Drum Island from here, and that's only if the weather doesn't slow then down."

Raelin nodded her head knowing that to be so. This girl looked as if she had hours left not days.

"Is there anything that we can do to give her more time?" Vivi asked desperately.

Wren looked at Vivi then nodded her head once, which had Vivi sighing in relief. Little did she know that helping these rookie pirates would lead her to more trouble and adventure in the near future than she bargained for.

* * *

Neko-Neko no Mi; Model: Tiger-Cat Cat-fruit; model: Tiger- Zoan Type that gives the user the ability to turn into a tiger

Kōkan-Kōkan no Mi: Exchange-Exchange fruit- gives the user the ability to exchange one thing with another (Dorado Jasmine from my other One Piece story had been its user, but since I ended the story, I added this devil fruit here.)

Shūri-Shūri no Mi: Restore-Restore Fruit- gives the user the ability to restore anything touch to it's original state, but most have some kind of other object to make up for what's broken of another.


	3. Becoming A Straw Hat

Wren let out a sigh as she covered up Nami after doing what she could to try and slow down the infection. Nami was now sleeping peacefully, and her crewmates, who Wren and Raelin were introduced to officially, were gathered around looking worried.

"If my calculations are correct, that has bought her at least another twenty-four hours or so." Wren said as she looked at the crew. "Hopefully it will be enough time for you all to reach Drum Island tomorrow."

Usopp and Luffy gave loud cheers of happiness, which had Vivi shushing them quickly. Wren then blinked when Sanji was suddenly knelt on one knee while holding one of her hands.

"Wren-chwan, thank-you so much for helping Nami-chan." Sanji said with a goofy smile on his face. "You're as talented as you are beautiful!~"

Wren sweat-dropped really not understanding this guy in the slightest. She's had men flirt with her before, but they weren't…goofy like this man in front of her. That and most of them gave up on flirting with her once they realized how scary she could be.

"You're welcome." Wren said slowly. "I'm sure you all are tired. You should get some sleep before you must leave in the morning. Raelin, the cots are ready for them, yes?"

"Yes, Wren-sama." Raelin said bowing her head. "If there is something else you need, I can see to it immediately."

"No, I need nothing else." Wren said. "You may retire for the night whenever you wish."

Raelin bowed her head again then went down the ladder through the trapdoor to go to her own cot. Wren then went back over to her desk where she still had devil fruit to identify.

"Well, I'm going to hit the sack!" Usopp said. "We need to be up early to head to this Drum Island place Wren and Raelin mentioned."

Zoro, who had been sitting against the wall, just snored in reply as his head was leaned against the wall. Usopp shook his head at his crewmate then went down the ladder to go crash on one of the cots to catch some sleep.

"Wren-san, thank-you for your hospitality and for looking after Nami." Vivi said as she bowed to Wren gratefully.

"Don't mention it." Wren, who was facing away from Vivi, said as she took off her eyepatch to place her reading glasses back on her nose. "Just get some rest. It seems as if you need it."

Vivi nodded her head while smiling. She was truly grateful to have met Wren on this island because of all she has done for them. Vivi then went down the ladder with Karoo just curling up next to Wren's chair since he couldn't fit down the trapdoor. Wren pet the top of his head absently, which had the large ultra spotbill duck leaning into her touch. Wren picked up the last devil fruit that had been with the last three she had already identified as she looked down at the book in front of her.

"Are those all devil fruit?" Luffy, who wasn't ready to sleep, asked as he sat on the chest beside Wren's desk.

"Yes." Wren replied as she flipped a page in the book. "I recently… _commandeered_ them from former business associates of mine."

Speaking of Boris and his men, they were all currently still laying out on the beach not far from the shack. Most of them were either dead, or too wounded to move. Boris was probably still locked away in the nightmare that Wren left him with.

"So you stole them?" Luffy asked bluntly.

"Luffy, don't accuse such a lovely beauty without proof!" Sanji snapped as he kicked Luffy in the face.

Luffy's head bobbled back and forth for a moment, but he didn't seem too fazed by the kick to the face. Wren, who had her black-iris eye closed, looked at Luffy curious for two reasons. One because no normal neck would be that flexible for his head to bobble around as it had. Two because she was confused that Luffy let his subordinates abuse him. He is the captain of the crew, isn't? She then chuckled when remembering his blunt question.

"Actually, that is true." Wren said. "I just like using the word commandeered since it sounds nicer than stole."

"Oh…okay." Luffy said blinking. "Why did you steal them?"

Wren tilted her head to the side wondering what half-lie to tell this rookie pirate captain.

"Well, devil fruits are very valuable." Wren said. "I plan to trade them for things I may need, or sell them for beri."

Wren held up the one in her hand to show to Luffy and Sanji, and they blinked curiously at it.

"Depending on how rare this is, I can get a beri amount of one million beries to ten billion beries—heh, maybe even higher." Wren said.

Luffy and Sanji's jaws dropped in shock, and Wren chuckled at their expressions.

"How much meat could I buy with ten billion beries?" Luffy asked with drool running down his chin as he took Wren's shoulders to shake her due to his excitement. "Ten billion pieces of meat?!"

"Luffy, knock it off!" Sanji snapped. "Go to bed already!"

He kicked Luffy in the face again, and this time he kicked Luffy so hard that it sent him flying through the still opened trapdoor. He crashed to the bottom, and Wren heard Usopp exclaim in complaint. She then heard the sound of tussling.

"Hey, there's a horse down here!" Luffy exclaimed suddenly.

"Are you just now noticing it?!" Usopp snapped. "It was there the first time we got here!"

Wren sweat-dropped while wondering how this crew could be so rowdy so late at night. And she is a bit surprised Luffy just noticed Daganet, which was Raelin's horse.

"Sorry about him, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he sat down in Luffy's now vacant spot.

"Don't worry about it." Wren said. "He wasn't bothering me really….Aren't you tired, Sanji-san?"

"Yeah, a bit." Sanji admitted. "But I don't want to leave Nami unwatched in case something happens."

He didn't want to close his eyes since he was scared something would happen to Nami as soon as he did so.

"Well, I personally promise to watch over Nami for the night." Wren said to cease his worries. "So, please, get some rest. You will need to be completely rested to watch over her tomorrow, won't you?"

Sanji lightly frowned supposing that was true, but the worry wouldn't leave his chest. He then blinked when Wren placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her beautiful face as she smiled at him.

"I promise that I will get you up immediately if something urgent was to happen to Nami-san." Wren assured him.

Sanji smiled at Wren goofily as he let out puffs of smoke that were shaped like hearts.

"Wren-chan is so kindhearted that it makes me melt~" He cooed.

Wren just stared at him unsure of how to reply to that compliment. No one has called her kindhearted in a very long time. Not even her former crewmates. Well, Dellinger calls her that from time to time, but he always points out that she's only kindhearted for him, which is more or less true. Wren then watched as Sanji went through the trapdoor down the ladder to join his crewmates, who had gone quiet, for bed. After he was gone, Wren looked back to her book as she flipped the page again. She came to a stop when seeing the devil fruit she had in her hand matched the picture in the book.

"Tamiu-Tamiu no Mi*." Wren said. "Boris-san it seems you really did find a gem this time. And if this is such a rare devil fruit, I cannot wait to find out what the last one is."

Wren set the newly identified Tamiu-Tamiu no Mi to the side with the other identified devil fruit, so to pick up the last one. She started looking through the devil fruit encyclopedia once more to try and find its pictured match inside. She had to search for about ten minutes, but she finally came to image that matched the devil fruit in her hand perfectly. As she read what it was, her eyes widened in near disbelief. She looked back the devil fruit in hand as her heart thumped loudly in her chest.

"It's the Mozō- Mozō no Mi." She whispered. "One of the most powerful paramecia types there are….the power to mimic not only other people's normal abilities, but the power to mimic another devil fruit user's devil fruit powers."

The risk she took to intercept Boris here was more than worth it. With this she could really turn the odds in her favor. She just had to play this right, and figure out what exactly to do with this devil fruit. It was definitely worth more than cash or pieces of information. No, she had to be very careful of what she chooses to do with this devil fruit. Wren grinned a wicked grin as her eyes became shadowed over.

She gave a chuckle knowing Doflamingo was going to be more than pissed off about losing a shipment of devil fruit. There was a high chance he might just become a bit worried knowing that Wren had such a power devil fruit in her possession. Not to mention that without it…he can't copy a certain someone's devil fruit powers.

"I know exactly what you had planned for this Doflamingo." Wren said to herself. "It's too bad you won't be able to do as you wish, isn't it?

With what she had in hand Doflamingo now wouldn't be able to have someone mimic the power he most desperately wanted. Wren's grin grew as she set the devil fruit out in front of her.

"Now just who shall I give you to?" She asked herself. "If Doflamingo can use devil fruit to power his own ranks, there's no reason I can't do the same, right?"

* * *

As morning came, down below in the underground chambers Sanji was starting to wake. His eyes opened to see he was still in the underground chambers under the shack. He sat up seeing that Usopp was still sleeping soundly. However, Vivi nor Raelin weren't anywhere to be seen down there. Oh, and Luffy wasn't down there either. Sanji got up from his cot then stretched his limbs. If he slept the entire night, it must mean that nothing happened to Nami overnight, which was relieving. Sanji then went up the ladder to get to the top of the shack where he saw Vivi looking over Nami.

"Vivi-chan, how is she?" Sanji asked.

Vivi turned to look at Sanji with a wide smile, which he took as a good sign.

"A lot better." Vivi said. "I'm not sure exactly what Wren-san did, but the fever went down a bit. However, Wren-san that this wouldn't last, so we need to hurry and prepare to leave."

"And where is Wren-chan and Raelin-san?" Sanji asked.

Vivi pointed out the window towards the beach, so Sanji looked out seeing that Wren was standing in front of the Going Merry with Luffy and Raelin. Sanji admired Wren from the window as she spoke with the two others. She was a beautiful young woman, and her long wine-colored hair that fell mid-back in ringlets looked silky to the touch. Her one visible eye was a vibrant, captivating red, and Sanji wished that nothing had happened to the other, so that he could see both red ruby irises together. Her skin was a beautiful near porcelain tone, and appeared to be completely unmarked. She also had a beautifully voluptuous figure that could make any man weak at the knees.

Of course, Raelin was no slouch either. Her golden blonde hair shined like sunshine in the early morning light as it fell to her hips in slight waves. Her eyes were a warm brown that reminded Sanji of chocolate. Then her deeply tanned skin complimented her already sun kissed appearance. She was a bit taller than Wren, and her curves not as pronounced as the wine-haired woman's curvy form. However, she was still a beautiful sight to see.

"Such beautiful goddesses." Sanji said as he gave a weird laugh.

Vivi shook her head at Sanji, but was already becoming quite used to the cook's odd behavior. Sanji then frowned when hearing a lot of shouting. Seconds later a bunch of men were running towards the two women outside and Luffy.

"Oh no, Wren-chwan and Raelin-swan are in trouble!" Sanji said.

"Yeah, seems like it." Zoro, who was suddenly up, said casually as he looked out the window.

Sanji wanted to snap at Zoro to take two women in danger more seriously, but he knew he didn't have the time. He had to go save Wren and Raelin.

"Vivi-chan, stay with Nami-chan!" Sanji ordered.

He then ran out the door with Zoro following at a slower pace since he wasn't all that worried, but he was kind of bored, so a fight did sound fun.

"Don't worry, Wren-chwan, Raelin-swan, your knight in shining armor is coming to save you!" Sanji declared.

Wren either didn't hear Sanji or ignored him because she motioned Luffy, who was about to fight, back. She then stepped forward as she was drawing her sword. Zoro reached out to snag the back of Sanji's shirt to pull him back when he saw Wren drawing her blade.

"What are you doing, shitty marimo?!" Sanji demanded.

"Just watch, Ero-cook." Zoro said glaring at him.

Sanji growled about to tell him to shove it, but he then saw that Wren zipped forward with those men coming to a confused halt. They turned to look as Wren swiped her sword in front of her then went to sheath it.

"Screaming Vortex Slash." She said as the blade clicked into the blade.

Suddenly ear-piercing screams entered the air, which had the Straw Hat pirates flinching back in surprise. Raelin just watched calmly as those men who attacked were suddenly picked up off their feet into a spinning vortex of screams. The screaming vortex moved off into the ocean while carrying those men with it. After getting away a few dozen feet, the vortex vanished, which dropped those men into the ocean.

"Whoa, that was so awesome!" Luffy exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

Sanji just let out a sigh of relief when seeing that neither Wren nor Raelin was injured. He then jogged over towards the two women as Wren was walking back towards the Going Merry. Zoro narrowed his eyes at the sword on her hip while feeling its malice content from here. She was wielding a cursed blade like his Kitetsu III. Was it another Kitetsu?

"Wren-chwan, Raelin-swan, you're not hurt are you?" Sanji asked the two women.

Wren glanced at the cook as he looked at her and Raelin with true concern in his eyes.

"We're fine." Wren said. "We might be women, but we are stronger than we look. And I would like to apologize for that disturbance. It seemed my former business associates weren't happy with our last transaction with each other."

She supposed she should have just killed them all straight from the start. That's what she gets for going soft on them. A mistake she won't make again.

"Now, shall we prepare for you to set sail?" Wren asked. "I have already sent out a few friends of mine to gather you some supplies."

"I thought you said only you and Raelin were the only two people on this island before we got here?" Zoro asked as he walked up.

"Well, not counting my former business associates I had left for dead, Raelin and I are the only _people_ on this island." Wren replied.

Zoro frowned in confusion while noticing how Wren said "only people" in an almost secretive manner. If it wasn't people then what? Animals? There was then the sound of something large moving through the trees as they creaked and bent out of the way of whatever was walking towards them. Zoro put his hand on his Kitetsu III, and Sanji moved in front of the ladies as he frowned towards the jungle. Luffy just stood there wondering what was coming. Suddenly three large figures stepped out of the jungle.

"What the—?!" Zoro exclaimed with wide eyes.

"What are those things?" Sanji asked looking equally freaked out.

"So cool!" Luffy cried with his eyes shining brightly with excitement.

Standing in front of them were three large monsters that had thick black fur. They walked like gorillas, but had large mouths with long jagged teeth. Then their eyes were a sharp red color, and their irises were in the shape of diamonds like some snakes have. They were carrying large woven baskets on their backs that appeared to be full of stuff. Just then the door to the shack opened with Usopp walking out.

"What's with all the noise?" Usopp asked as he was looking up. "Are you trying to wake up Na—Holy cow! Monsters!"

Said monsters turned their eyes on Usopp, which had the sniper falling backwards to play dead. He was sweating bullets and crying as he prayed they didn't try to eat him.

"Usopp-san, there is no cause for worry." Wren said. "These monsters aren't going to hurt you. They only obey me."

Usopp risked sitting up to look at Wren in confusion as the rest of his crewmates were as well.

"Wren-sama ate a devil fruit." Raelin explained for Wren. "It's known as the Horā-Horā no Mi, which grants her the powers to conjure monsters straight from legend or children's nightmares. It also gives her the power to see inside a person's soul to see what they're afraid of the most in this world, which is what her right eye does. Then her left eye projects that fear into the person's mind as a nightmare, but it feels all too real to the person. Also the nightmare continues permanently unless Wren-sama stops it herself."

"Right eye?" Usopp asked then looked to Wren. "But don't you where the eyepatch because you lost that eye?"

Wren shook her head as she placed a hand over her eyepatch, which kept her black-iris eye hidden.

"After eating the Horā–Horā no Mi the iris of my right eye turned black, and it gained the power to see into a person's soul to see what horrifies them the most as Raelin pointed out." Wren said. "Then with my left eye I cast that horror into their heads."

Usopp's eyes widened as he gulped looking at Wren in fear, which didn't surprise her. She was used to getting such looks. Even grown men quiver in fright whenever she walks by if they know of her power, or have gotten a small taste of it.

"That's so awesome!" Luffy said grinning broadly. "Oi, Wren, join my crew!"

Wren and Raelin looked at Luffy with wide eyes as he continued to grin at Wren.

"What a wonderful idea, Luffy!" Sanji said as he looked at Wren with love shining in his visible eye. "We should ask Raelin-san to come with us too."

Two more lovely beauties on their ship would bring him so much bliss that he might overload on it.

"Join your crew?" Wren asked curiously.

"Yeah, yeah!" Luffy said nodding excitedly. "Be part of my nakama!"

Raelin smiled thinking it was perfect for Wren to join these pirates. They could help her get through the Grand Line without a problem.

"Thank-you for asking, but I must decline." Wren said.

Raelin frowned while should have knowing that Wren wouldn't accept Luffy's offer.

"Huh? Why?!" Luffy asked pouting.

"I have things I must do, and I can't take time off from those things to continue pirating." Wren said then dipped her head politely. "I'm sorry. My friends shall help you load your ship. I suggest you leave quickly, so to get Nami-san to Drum Island."

Wren then walked away to head back towards the shack, which left Raelin standing with the Straw Hats silently. Luffy frowned wondering why Wren just wouldn't agree. Sanji watched Wren leave while noting there was something sad about the aura around her.

"Guess that's that." Zoro said. "Let's get ready to make sail."

Zoro jumped up to the Going Merry's deck as those large gorilla beasts where putting what they had gathered onto the deck.

"Hey, something she said bothers me?" Usopp said. "She said continue pirating. Does that mean she's already a pirate?"

The three Straw Hats looked at Raelin as she watched Wren duck back into the shack before looking back at them.

"You rookies don't know anything, do you?" Raelin asked. "Wren-sama is a very infamous pirate. She's known as Saturn Wren the Princess of Horrors for not only her devil fruit abilities, but also because of her heritage. Wren-sama was born as the Princess of Era."

Usopp blinked because he's never heard of the Era before. He knew what an era was. Like this is the Great Pirate Era, but he's never heard of a place called Era.

"She's a princess?!" Sanji asked with a big goofy grin on his face. "No wonder why she's so beautiful!~"

"Well, actually she's no longer a true princess." Raelin said. "Not only had she given up her royal birthright when she became a pirate, but the Kingdom of Era on Millennia Island no longer exists."

It became silent as the boys looked at Raelin with wide eyes as she gazed sadly towards the shack. Zoro paused in loading the food to look over the edge of the railing because he was interested now.

"Why did she become a pirate?" Usopp asked.

"She wasn't given a choice." Raelin said as she narrowed her eyes. "An evil man named Donquixote Doflamingo forced her into piracy since she had eaten the devil fruit he wanted. It was either she join his crew, or her entire family plus the kingdom she loves would be slaughtered in front of her…she was only five."

Sanji, who had a cigarette in his mouth, dropped it from his mouth as he gapped openly at Raelin in shock. Wren was faced with such horrors at a young age?

"So to keep all that she loved safe, she agreed to become a pirate to serve Doflamingo." Raelin continued. "However, she recently learned that the Kingdom of Era was destroyed years ago. Eleven years ago at the least, which is around the time she suffered another great loss at the hands of Doflamingo who killed a man that kept Wren safe and made her feel loved. Then a boy she saw as a brother had to flee for his life. Wren had wanted to go with him, but remained behind with Doflamingo to continue pirating."

Raelin knew she was telling these strangers a lot of personal things about Wren. However, Raelin wanted them to understand Wren and her situation, so she could then later ask them to take Wren with them since Raelin was convinced it might save Wren's life.

"Why didn't she go with this brother figure of hers?" Usopp asked.

"As I said she didn't learn until recently that her family and kingdom were gone, so she hid away all the pain she felt from that day." Raelin said. "It began to fester inside her to become hate for Doflamingo and everything he built. What made her even angrier was that she was a part of bringing up the empire he has now. She hated that she was causing the same pain and suffering that she knew too well, and that she was trying to protect her family from onto others."

Raelin paused as tears came to her eyes. Just thinking of all the horrible things Wren has gone through brings her such sadness. Since no one should have to live as Wren has, and no one should have to deal with as much pain as Wren does on a daily basis.

"However, to keep going she told herself that it was all to keep her family safe." Raelin said as she composed herself. "But then a few months ago a friend of ours, who gathers information for Wren-sama much like myself, told Wren-sama that there was nothing left of Era…just ruins of skeletons. That was her breaking point. Wren-sama left the Doflamingo Family while swearing that she would end Doflamingo, but not before making him watch his precious empire crumble before him."

Usopp looked down at the ground wondering how much pain and suffering Wren went through for fourteen years. He knew it had to be hard to hear that everything she went through was in vain. He also couldn't imagine to hear from someone that his beloved hometown was no longer in existence.

"It's all she lives for now." Raelin said sadly. "To her nothing else is more important that taking down Doflamingo, and even if she dies for it, she doesn't care. In fact, she told me she'd prefer to just die after she completes her goal."

Sanji's hands clenched into fists as his body shook. This Doflamingo guy has caused harm to lady, which was already unforgiveable. To make his sins worse he made it seem as if Wren had nothing left to live for. No lady should ever feel as if dying was a better option than living.

"I'm sure she has a lot of dirt on this Doflamingo guy." Zoro said. "So why doesn't she give all this information to the Navy to have them deal with it?"

"Because they'd most likely just look the other way." Raelin said frowning. "They're already aware of some of the things Doflamingo is doing, but pretend not to see it. That's one of the perks being a Shichibukai I suppose."

Usopp's mouth dropped open in shock as his blood froze in his veins and his face went pale. The others looked Raelin in surprise when hearing this as well. She blinked at them wondering if they really knew nothing. Information is a pirate's greatest weapon. Especially on these waters. Not knowing who the top dogs are can get a person killed.

"A Shichibukai?!" Usopp squeaked.

"Yes, he was invited to become a Shichibukai quite some time ago." Raelin said nodding. "After that the government helped Doflamingo keep the truth from Wren-sama about her kingdom. In fact, they used to give Wren false reports that Era was doing well. Anything to keep such a strong asset on their side. The second Wren-sama deflected from Doflamingo's crew her bounty was reinstated, and it's promised to be doubled if she's brought in alive."

Of course, Raelin knew that Wren would die first before being taken back to Doflamingo alive and in chains. Even if Wren had to bite of her own tongue she would do so. Raelin then frowned actually knowing she was wrong. If Wren hadn't finished her goal, Wren would cling to life. Even if that meant dealing with being tortured and beaten. She wouldn't die until her goal was fulfilled.

"I don't care about any of that!" Luffy declared.

Raelin and his friends looked at Luffy in shock as he crossed his arms over his chest with a firm expression on his face. He was then kicked in the face by an enraged Sanji.

"You insensitive shitty bastard!" Sanji snapped as he continued to kick Luffy. "Wren-chan has obviously been through a lot of pain! How dare you not show sympathy?!"

Raelin sweat-dropped wondering if the chef of a crew should really be abusing his captain like that. Sanji finally stopped kicking Luffy who was now sporting bruises and lumps on his face.

"I still don't care!" Luffy insisted. "Wren is still going to be a part of our crew!"

Raelin's eyes widened when Luffy said that with no hesitation whatsoever in his voice.

"Wait, what?!" Usopp exclaimed. "Luffy, did you not hear anything Raelin said?! Wren has made a lot of important and powerful people mad! Just think about what might happen to us if those people catch up to her while she's on our ship."

Raelin bit her lip understanding his worry. Any sane person wouldn't want to bring so much trouble onto their ship.

"Besides, we've already made one Shichibukai mad!" Usopp pointed out. "Crocodile can already be gearing up to attack us!"

Raelin already knew about this crew's misfortune on getting on Crocodile's radar since Vivi had explained it all early this morning when the boys were still asleep. Raelin and Wren had just been making small talk with the bluenette, and it led to Vivi explaining why she was on the crew and such.

"Don't worry so much." Luffy said laughing. "If anyone comes after Wren, I'll take care of them because I protect my nakama!"

Raelin was once again surprised by Monkey D. Luffy. He showed no fear or hesitation at all. It was like he didn't know how to be afraid.

"Yeah, well, she already declined!" Usopp pointed out.

"So?" Luffy asked.

" _So_ you can't force her onto the crew!" Usopp pointed out.

"Really?" Zoro asked. "He blackmailed me."

Luffy laughed remembering the day he had asked Zoro to join his crew. He was going to hold Zoro's swords hostage until he agreed to join.

"Our captain is rather insistent on getting what he wants." Sanji added smirking. "A lot of us didn't join easily."

Usopp frowned knowing that was true. None of the others beside him wanted to become a pirate eagerly.

"So…so you will take Wren-sama onto your crew?" Raelin asked starting to feel hopeful.

"Uh-huh!" Luffy said nodding. "And if she still wants to finish her dream then fine, but she has to come back of course!"

"You all are sure deciding a lot for me."

The group jumped before turning to see Wren standing there as she was helping Vivi move Nami, who was riding on Karoo, to the ship.

"I believe I declined." Wren continued. "I don't want to join a pirate crew after just leaving one. Besides, you might not care about your own safety, but I for one don't want your deaths on my conscious. Rookies couldn't stand a chance against Doflamingo."

Actually there wasn't many people in general who can stand a chance against that frightening man. Raelin bit her limp then dropped to her knees to bow to Wren.

"Please, Wren-sama, I beg you to join this crew of rookies!" Raelin begged as she kept her head low. "You've been alone for too long! Even with your old crew there was a part of you that you had to keep locked away. A part that still holds the love for life and the wish to live. These pirates here…I believe they can help that part of you bloom again, so you can be happy. I believe they can give you something else to live for besides revenge, so that when you reach your goal that you still have a reason to live…I…I…"

Raelin paused in her pleading to let out a small sob as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I want you to live, Wren-sama." Raelin cried. "If you were to die…I would feel so much pain."

Wren looked down at Raelin with an unreadable expression as she continued to cry into the sand. The Straw Hats and Vivi watched the scene silently, and when seeing Raelin so sad had Vivi tearing up. Wren then walked forward to stand in front of Raelin. Wren then crouched down to place a hand on Raelin's shoulder.

"You would miss someone like me?" Wren said.

"Yes." Raelin said without lifting her head. "So please…please learn how to live again."

Wren let out a sigh before she stood up to start walking away, which had everyone looking at her with wide eyes. Was she just going to ignore Raelins's request?

"Don't just stand there." Wren said as she glanced back at them.

She then turned to point towards the guys, which had them blinking curiously.

"I have things that need to be moved from my small boat to this ship, so be gentlemen and use those muscles to help me." Wren said.

Raelin remained in place with her eyes widening, but then a smile spread across her face when realizing Wren did as she wished.

"Anything for you, Wren-chwan!" Sanji said as he dashed after her.

Luffy let out a cheer as he ran after the chef. It seemed they had gotten a new crewmate after all. Wren gave a sigh sure she was going to regret all of this.

* * *

"Is everything put away in the women's quarters?" Wren asked as she stood on the deck of the Going Merry.

"Yes, Wren-chwan!" Sanji said as he smiled at her. "Everything you asked us to grab has been moved to the women's quarters~ Even the devil fruits from the shack."

Wren nodded her head then glanced down at Raelin who was standing on the beach beside Daganet. She had a cloak around her, and a bag thrown over her shoulders.

"Have a safe journey, Wren-sama." Raelin said smiling softly.

"You too, Raelin." Wren replied. "And please take no unnecessary risks."

Raelin nodded her head knowing exactly what Wren was asking of her, and Raelin would do her best to stay safe.

"We shall meet again in Sabaody." Wren said.

"Yes, Wren-sama." Raelin said.

Raelin then mounted Daganet who let out a soft whinny as Luffy and the others came to the railing to say their goodbyes. Raelin smiled at all of them while so grateful that they would be there for Wren when she would need people to chase away the nightmares. She also gave the group a wave before looking to Daganet.

"Okay, Daganet, it's time for us to go." Raelin said.

Daganet gave another whinny then transformed partially in front of the crew. Usopp and Luffy gaped as Daganet's head turned into the head of a bird with feathers and everything. Then his front legs took on the form of a bird as well with long sharp talons. Finally two large powerful wings sprouted out as well, and Daganet gave then a few flaps. At the end of his transformation he was half horse and half bird.

"Amazing!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Daganet ate the Tori-Tori no Mi; Model: Hawk." Wren explained. "When in his half-and-half form, he takes the form of a Hippogriff, which is mythological creature."

"That's awesome!" Usopp said.

Raelin laughed at the reactions before giving a final farewell to the group. She then lightly kicked Daganet's sides, which had him running along the beach before soaring up into the sky as he flapped his powerful wings. Wren watched Raelin go while hoping that they do see each other again. She then gave a sigh knowing they had to get moving.

"Alright, time to set sail." Wren said. "We still need to get to Drum Island to get Nami-san to Dr. Kureha."

"Right!" The guys said.

As they were getting everything ready to set sail, Wren headed for the women's quarters to check on Nami. She had to make sure to keep her alive until they reached Kureha. Wren just hoped her limited knowledge of medicine was up for the task.

* * *

Tamiu-Tamiu no Mi-the power to control time. Though limited since it can only control the time of objects like speeding up the time around them, or slowing it down, or reversing it. Or sending it a few seconds into the past or a few seconds into the future. Does not work on humans.

Mozō- Mozō no Mi-the power mimic another person's skill or another devil fruit user's powers. However, before mimic another person the user must make direct contact with this person. Also when mimic a devil fruit the user can only mimic the power od the devil fruit three times before never being able to use that power again.


	4. Wapol the Outcasted King

Wren took the washcloth off of Nami's head to dip into the bucket of water. When she pulled it out once more, she wrung it out to get rid of some of the water. She folded it back up to place over Nami's forehead.

"Thank-you for looking after me, Wren." Nami said weakly. "I know you'd probably rather spend your time doing something else."

"Think nothing of it." Wren said. "I am a member of the crew now, and crewmates are meant to look out for each other, right?"

Nami smiled while nodding her head. She then drifted off into sleep as Wren remained at her bedside. Vivi sat off to the side as she looked at Wren curiously. She had heard most of what Raelin had said when explaining Wren's past. Vivi couldn't imagine what kind of hardships Wren went through all those years of serving a man who brought her nothing but suffering.

Vivi also couldn't imagine what it'd be like to be living with the knowledge that her kingdom was wiped from existence after trying so hard to protect it. She prayed Alabasta didn't end up like the Era Kingdom. What bothered her more was that the Marines and World Government were able to keep something like a kingdom being destroyed a secret from the rest of the world.

"Something on your mind?" Wren asked suddenly.

Vivi jumped then noticed that the older woman had turned her visible red eye on her. Vivi blushed at getting caught staring. Vivi opened her mouth to explain her worries were on her kingdom, but paused. She was sure that Wren—someone who lost her kingdom, and just learned of it recently—wouldn't want to hear about Vivi worrying about losing hers.

"No! I just—I'm sorry." Vivi stuttered in the end since she had no idea what to say.

She then hung her head being more embarrassed than a second ago. Wren was silent for a moment as she looked at Vivi. Wren then crossed one leg over the other as she sat straight and properly in her seat.

"I do not understand why you are apologizing, but I suppose apology accepted." Wren said shrugging her shoulders in a delicate manner. "Now, I know something is on your mind, so please feel free to share."

Vivi bit her lip as she took her eyes off her lap to look directly at Wren who was regarding her calmly. Was it really okay for Vivi to discuss her worries with Wren? Vivi didn't want to bring up any bad memories for the woman.

"I…I'm just worried about my kingdom." Vivi finally confessed as her gaze dropped back down to her lap. "After…hearing about your homeland from Raelin-san, I suppose I fear the same thing will happen to Alabasta."

Wren took another silent pause as she looked up with an unreadable expression on her face.

"I see." Wren said. "I can understand your concern. It seems only natural for someone who loves their kingdom with all their hearts to be worried. However, I highly doubt what happened to Era is what's destined for Alabasta."

Vivi lifted her gaze from her lap again to look at Wren curiously as Wren continued to look up into the air.

"You see, Crocodile doesn't want to destroy Alabasta and its people." Wren said. "He wishes to rule them, which means he isn't going to turn Alabasta into a country of ruins and skeletons like Era is now."

Vivi tilted her head wondering how Wren knew that. Vivi did explain some details about what is happening, but Wren seemed to know more. Wren finally looked directly at Vivi to see her confused look.

"You and this Igaram person you spoke of aren't the only ones who infiltrated Crocodile's Baroque Works." Wren said. "Doflamingo has an inside person of his own."

Vivi's eyes widen in utter shock. Donquixote Doflamingo had an inside person in Baroque Works?! Vivi didn't understand why Doflamingo had an interest in another Shichibukai's work.

"I'm not going to go into all the details since the less you know the better, but Doflamingo works a lot of trade in the underworld." Wren said. "However, he goes by a different name when working in the underworld. He does so much business in the underworld that he practically runs it, so the moment Crocodile started playing his own hand it alerted Doflamingo. And he has been keeping his eyes on Crocodile ever since by using this insider who is one of the partners of the top five agents of Baroque Works."

Vivi couldn't believe it. She and Igaram worked so hard just to become Mr. 8 and Ms. Wednesday. They thought no spy before had ever gotten as far as them. Yet a Shichibukai who was only keeping tabs on Crocodile had an inside agent from the top ranks feeding him information. And this person was able to learn Crocodile's identity without getting caught.

"I was in charge of the informants since all knew not to double cross me." Wren said. "So this informant brought me all the information she could get on Crocodile and what he is doing, and I in turn would give the information to Doflamingo."

Wren left out that she knew that Crocodile was doing more than just trying to take over Alabasta. He was also in search of something powerful that Doflamingo's informant has yet to discover. And since there was no need in worry Vivi about it Wren would keep it to herself.

"Is there any other information you know that could help?" Vivi asked.

"Not really." Wren said shrugging. "Just that Crocodile wants Alabasta as his own personal sandbox, and that he wants to make a major power play in the underworld. Of course, if he tries that Doflamingo will send someone from his own crew to deal with Crocodile."

Doflamingo couldn't do it on his own since a throw down between Shichibukai would gain attention. Doflamingo still finds being a Shichibukai useful, so he wouldn't want to jeopardize that for now. However, Wren knew Doflamingo could use the information he knows to give to the marines who might just step in to take care of Crocodile. Of course, Wren knew that trusting the marines and the government was as much of a gamble as trusting pirates.

Wren knew her new crew was planning to battle Crocodile, and she was certain none of them were strong enough yet. She would most likely have to step in to handle him herself. She couldn't let him keep doing as he pleases anyway since the moment Doflamingo makes his move he'll take out Crocodile someway, and end up with all the resources left over from Crocodile. That would give Doflamingo more power, which isn't what Wren wanted since she was working on trying to weaken him.

"This is all so complicated." Wren said to herself. "It seems I will be doing Doflamingo one more favor even if I'm really just doing it for myself."

Vivi looked at Wren in confusion, but before she could ask what Wren meant, Sanji came down into the women's quarters.

"Wren-chan, how is Nami-chan doing?" Sanji asked.

"Her fever is rising again." Wren said as she glanced at Sanji. "What I did earlier isn't keeping back her fever anymore, which means we need to hurry to Drum Island all the more."

Sanji felt like crying when he heard that since he didn't want any of these lovely ladies on the ship to be sick.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Sanji asked.

"I know a few things that bring down fevers, but since I'm not sure what kind of infection is causing her, I'm not sure what to try." Wren replied. "Sometimes trying to make someone better when not knowing the proper way to do so will make that someone worse off in the end. Which means it'd be too risky for me to try something without knowing 100% that it'd help Nami-san. All we can do now is pray we reach Drum Island in time."

Sanji frowned wishing there was something they could do, but he understood what Wren was saying. And he didn't want to make Nami worse.

"Wren-san, I know you said you aren't a doctor, but you do seem to know a lot." Vivi said. "Did you use to practice medicine?"

Wren blinked at the question since she hadn't been expecting it. No one has ever really asked her how she knows what she knows.

"…I had a friend—he was more of a brother really—who was studying to be a doctor." Wren said. "I spent so much time with him even while he was studying that I picked up a few things is all."

Vivi nodded her head while glad that Wren did pick up those things since what she does know has been of great help. Sanji was about to ask something else, but noticed that Wren suddenly sat up straighter.

"So many voices." She said as she looked up towards the deck. "Who just entered our path?"

"Wren-san…what are you talking about?" Vivi asked.

Wren just stood up while grabbing her sword from where it had been resting against the wall. She put it in its holster then grabbed her coat, which she pulled on.

"Stay here." Wren said. "Make sure Nami isn't too jostled."

Before Sanji or Vivi could ask Wren what was going on, Wren was already up the steps to get into the galley. Wren shut the trapdoor that led to the women's quarters then walked out the door to take her onto the deck. Luffy and Usopp turned to look at her from where they stood at the front of the ship.

"Hey, Wren, there's some guy on the water!" Luffy said pointing.

"There's more than just one person, Captain." Wren said as she stood by the mast. "Prepare yourselves because we are about to have a lot of company."

Usopp and Luffy looked at Wren in confusion as Zoro looked down from up above. He could tell by Wren's movement that she was gearing up for a fight. Did she sense something they couldn't? Wren narrowed her eyes as she placed her hand on her sword's hilt.

"Here they come." She said.

Just as soon as the words left her mouth a huge metal sphere shot up out of the ground. The Going Merry slipped right off of it while hitting the water below, which had the ship bouncing and shaking. Usopp went falling backwards as the ship continued to shake.

"What is that thing?!" Luffy asked. "A watermelon?!"

"It appears to be some kind of vessel, Luffy-sama." Wren replied.

One like she's never seen before, and she's seen a lot of different kinds of ships in her fourteen years as a pirate.

"Are you saying that that thing is a ship?" Zoro asked as he tried to get back onto his feet.

"I think we're about to find out." Wren said as the large, iron sphere started to open.

The iron slipped down into the ocean to reveal a large ship that made the Going Merry seem like a dingy. A figurehead rose out of the water to stop at the front of the ship, and a flag with a Jolly Rodger was hoisted up. Wren frowned knowing that this would be a delay for them, which is something they couldn't afford at the moment.

"Oh crap!" Usopp exclaimed. "It's a pirate ship!"

"It's huge." Luffy said with wide eyes.

It was definitely bigger then the Going Merry, but definitely not the biggest ship Wren has ever seen.

"Great." Zoro complained. "Just when we need to hurry."

Wren noted all the men on the ship, and was certain there were a hundred or more. Shouldn't be a problem. Of course she knew better then to underestimate anyone. Though she'll admit she can be just as arrogant as her former crewmates. They all then heard laughter coming from the ship, which had Wren looking for the source of it.

"What the matter?" A voice asked. "Don't tell me our underwater raid ship the Tin Tyrant surprised you!"

The laughter continued, and Wren soon pinpointed the source of it to a large man eating meat off a dagger. The large man's men then came on board to surround all of them as they held Wren and the boys at gunpoint. Wren narrowed her eyes at the men as Sanji came bursting through the door to join them.

"Hey!" He called out. "What's going on…?"

He trailed off while looking around to see they had guests. He then looked to Wren wondering if she knew these people were going to appear, which had her come up here in the first place. He let out a sigh as he brought out his match box to light a match. He lit a cigarette calmly then after he took a drag he let out a puff of smoke calmly.

"So what's going on?" Sanji asked still calm.

"Well, we're under attack and it's still snowing." Luffy said casually as some of the enemy men surround Sanji as well.

Sanji let out another puff of smoke as he held his cigarette away from his mouth in between his fingers.

"Well, yeah, the guns pointed at my face kind of gave them one away." Sanji said. "What next? Oh, I know."

A second later he attacked the men that had their guns pointed at Wren with his feet.

"I'm going to give you punks a lesson about never pointing your guns at a lady!" Sanji said. "Especially such a beautiful one like Wren-chan!"

It took only a matter of seconds for Sanji to defeat those four men, and for good measure he stomped on one of their heads. Wren blinked while a bit unsure of how to react to a man coming to her aid. No man has done that in a while. Most knew she didn't need to be protected, so they didn't run to give her help whenever she was in a pickle.

"You bastard!" Another man shouted. "How dare you attack our comrades?!"

He and a few other men turned their guns on the pair as they stood back to back.

"Now, now, calm down, men." The large man said as he came onto the ship as well. "Don't attack them yet. We still have questions to ask them."

The men under his command growled as they glared at Sanji who glared right back at them. However, he soon smiled goofily as he turned his attention to Wren.

"Are you alright, my dear?" He asked as he took her hand.

"Yes, I'm fine." Wren said. "And for future reference, I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can, Wren-chan, but I have sworn to protect all ladies." Sanji said then gave her a grin. "Just think of me as your personal knight in shining armor."

"I'll…keep that in mind." Wren said.

Again something else she wasn't used to was someone promising to be her knight. Most men are terrified of her if they know who she is and what she's capable of. Sanji's grin widen as he continued to hold onto Wren's hand. She glanced down at their hands wondering why he was still holding onto it. The only one who holds her hands for an expended about of time nowadays is Dellinger, and that's when he and Wren go shopping.

Wren frowned knowing that she'd never hold his hand again or go shopping with him anymore. She then mentally hit herself because she couldn't space out right now by thinking about the past. She gave a sigh while turning her attention back onto the hippo man as he started speaking again.

"You all consider yourself a band of pirates?" The man asked as he chewed on his food. "That's amusing. I only county five of ya."

He then took a bite out of his dagger as he was finishing off the rest of his meat. Wren quirked a brow at this as the rest of her crewmates either flinched or looked at the man as if he was some kind of freak.

"Sort of strange that your group would have such few members." The man continued.

He tossed the rest of the dagger into his mouth to munch loudly on. Wren frowned at his poor eating manners. Sanji nearly gagged at the sight as he remained close to Wren.

"Kay, that's just weird." Luffy said. "What kind of guy likes to eat knives?"

"My gums are bleeding just thinking about it." Usopp said.

He also felt a lot of pain in his gums even if he wasn't the one physically eating the dagger. Wren tilted her head at this man while wondering who he was. She supposed she could try the whole insulting him technique and see which one of his loyal subordinates jumped at the chance to tell her to respect him, which would flush out his name.

"You know, Hippo man, numbers mean nothing on these waters." Wren said casually as she placed her hand on her hip. "It doesn't matter if you sail on the Grand Line with a thousand men or just a handful. The Grand Line can wipe them all out just the same. What matters on these waters is the strength you possess. Any good pirate knows that. Obviously you aren't one. No surprise you look like a greenhorn."

The man narrowed his eyes at Wren as her lips turned up into a mocking smirk.

"How dare you insult, Wapol-sama!" One of the men shouted. "One-Eyed Wench!"

Wren held back a grin as she glanced at the man who shouted. Bingo. Now she has a name. It might seem silly trying to get this man's name, but knowledge is power on these waters. Besides, she wanted to see if this guy had a name of anyone important she should know. And his name did ring a bell. He had the name of that evil king that Kureha had once told Wren about. Wren also heard that he was chased out of Drum Island by a pirate named Blackbeard who Wren had never heard about until catching wind of what happened on Drum Island.

"Oi, what the hell did you call Wren-chwan, you shitty bastard?!" Sanji demanded.

He went to attack the man, but Wren placed her hand on his shoulder to keep him in place. Sanji let out a growl at the man, but remained still.

"Now, tell us what you want, Green horn." Wren ordered as she pointed at Wapol. "We're in a hurry, and don't have time to waste on you."

"Yeah, what she said!" Luffy added.

He knew they needed to get to Drum Island as soon as possible, so they could get Nami to that doctor that Wren mentioned.

"Alright, I'll keep this simple." Wapol said as he continued munching. "See my men here and I wish to travel to Drum Kingdom. You wouldn't happen to have an eternal pose or a log pose would ya?"

Wren narrowed her eyes at Wapol while knowing it wouldn't be a good thing if he reached the Drum Kingdom. Really it wasn't known as a kingdom anymore ever since he was dethroned. But that wasn't important. Point is that he shouldn't be allowed to set foot on the snowy winter island again.

"No, can't help." Sanji said. "Sorry, but I've never heard of this Drum Island."

Which was a total lie since Sanji knew it was the place that Wren had instructed them to set sail for to get help for Nami. Didn't mean they had to let these bozos know though. He just prayed the idiots of the crew didn't blab accidentally that they actually knew about the place Wapol was talking about.

"Well, now that we have that all settled, would you guys just leave already?" Luffy asked frowning. "We're in a hurry. We don't have time to deal with all this."

"You'll never enjoy life if you're always in a rush." Wapol said then held up his finger. "But if you have neither pose what can be done? I suppose I'll have to settle for your treasure and this ship."

Wren's frown deepened because there was no way she was letting this hippo man anywhere near the treasure she brought along with her, which she had stolen from Doflamingo. Nor would she let him even know about the five devil fruits she was packing around. She risked a lot getting those devil fruits, and wasn't about to let some banished king playing pirate anywhere near them.

"First thing's first!" Wapol said. "I'm feeling a bit hungry."

He then took a big bite out of the Going Merry, which had the Straw Hat men gasping in shock. Wren's visible eye just widened a bit as Wapol ripped the large chunk of ship he bit into off. He started munching on it as if it was completely normal.

"He's a ship eating monster!" Usopp cried.

"Hey, our ship isn't your lunch!" Luffy snapped.

"Be quiet." One of Wapol's men ordered. "Wapol-sama doesn't like to be disturbed while he's eating."

Luffy snapped at them to shut-up as he punched that guy and another over their heads. This lead to Wapol's men attacking, which didn't seem to bother Zoro and Sanji in the slightest. In fact, Wren noticed they looked excited for a fight. As they got ready to fight, Usopp ducked for cover. The boys—beside Usopp—started fighting those men as Wren let out a small sigh.

"I suppose just asking you all to leave is out of the question." Wren said casually.

"Damn straight!" They shouted as about five men came to attack her.

However, when they landed where she was, she was suddenly gone. They blinked in confusion wondering where she went.

"Too slow." Wren, who was standing up on the upper deck railing, said. "You lot aren't worth the effort it takes to simply draw my blade."

"What'd you say, Wench?!" One of them shouted. "Come down here to say that to our faces!"

Wren tilted her head at them then shrugged in a "what-are-you-going-to-do?" manner. She then jumped down from the railing to land in the center of them. Before they could blink Wren moved in a flash to deliver precise kicks and punches to their bodies. They went flying backwards while hitting the deck.

"You "g"uys really aren't worth my time." Wren said. "There is the "G"."

She lightly chuckled at her inside joke while thinking about Lao G. She sighed as she frowned.

"I need to stop thinking of them in such a friendly manner." Wren said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "They are the enemy. E-N-E-M-Y."

As she was telling herself this, a few other enemy men tried to attack her from behind. However she just ducked down, which had them sailing over her. They hit the wall in front of Wren. They grunted in pain as they fell back onto the deck.

"Just have to keep reminding myself of that." Wren said as she stood straight again. "Besides, I'm a Straw Hat now, right? Just have to think of myself as one of them."

"…Is…she ignoring…us?" One of the men asked as he continued to lay on the ground.

He then grunted in pain when Wren stepped on his head as she walked away. She saw Luffy heading for Wapol as he was stretching his arms backwards. Wapol opened his mouth to bite down on Luffy as Wren blinked curiously while she looked at Luffy's outstretched arms. It seemed as if Luffy was a devil fruit user such as herself.

"What is this?" Vivi asked as she stepped out on deck.

"Oh, hey there, Vivi-chan." Sanji said casually. "Everything okay with Nami-chan?"

Wren looked at her crewmates seeing that they didn't seem too concerned with the fact that Luffy was partially eaten, so she supposed it was alright for her to remain calm. It seemed it was the right call to make since Luffy sent Wapol flying seconds later. As Wapol's men started freaking out and retreating, Wren decided it was over.

"I'm feeling a bit chilly." Wren said as she ignored the threats being thrown their way. "I'm sure some warm tea will do the trick to chase away the chill."

* * *

Wren hummed to herself as she was making tea in the kitchen. She had asked permission from Sanji beforehand since she knew how chefs could be about their kitchens. As the water was boiling, Wren was looking through the different tea leafs and herbs that Sanji had. This tea she was making wasn't for her since she had drank her tea earlier. This was for Nami. Wren didn't want to give Nami anything that might irritate her infection, but her fever was coming back with a vengeance, so Wren was looking for herbs that were known to bring down fevers.

There were many herbs that people used to spice their food and such while not knowing that those very herbs could help people with fevers. She was going to mix it with two different kinds tea leaves to take out the bitter taste of the herbs. Wren wanted Nami to drink this to reduce her fever a bit, and she wanted Nami to feel soothed by the taste and aroma. Wren can't cook, but making tea and other beverages was her specialty. And she had to learn a long time go how to hide the bitter taste of medicine and herbs by having to trick Dellinger into taking his medicine since he always kicked up a fuss otherwise.

Wren found the herbs she wanted to use along with the tea leaves she picked out. She took them away from the rest to set to the side. She put the other ones away in their proper places then went on to finish the tea. The tea kettle let out a high pitch whistle just as Sanji came into the kitchen. Wren took the kettle off the stove then turned off the stove.

"Are you finding everything you need, Wren-chan?" Sanji asked.

"Yes, I have everything I need to make a fever reducing tea that is soothing for the throat and pleasing to the tongue." Wren said smiling.

Sanji smiled at her in return as she finished getting the tea ready for Nami to drink.

"So did you learn to make tea like this from your brother figure?" Sanji asked.

"Well, he taught me that certain herbs could help with fevers, and that to make them easier to drink that doctors sometimes mix them into hot beverages." Wren said. "I learned through trial and error that coffee was too strong for the herbs, and made them lose their potency. Mixing them in just plain water made their bitterness stronger, so people would tend not to drink them. Mixing them in something cold doesn't worth either since their properties don't dissolve into the drink to be absorbed into the body. Finally I came to mixing the herbs in tea, but even after discovering that tea works it took me a while to get it just right."

Wren remembers all the times she messed up in trying to get the perfect flavor combinations to make the bitterness all but disappear. Or leave just enough bitter taste to wet the mouth, which makes a person going in for another drink. It took her a while though to make sure there wasn't too much of a bitter taste left. Also mess-ups eventually led to Wren working hard in learning how to brew or mix together other drinks, and not just to hide the taste of medicine and herbs. It became a hobby of her that she enjoys, and it makes her happy when people compliment the drinks she makes. She remembers all too well the day that her former crewmates complimented the tea she made for them for the first time.

-FLASHBACK-

 _"Doflamingo-sama, Pink-sama, Gladius-sama, I brought you tea." Wren said as she walked up to the three men._

 _They glanced down at the young girl as she was carrying over a tray of tea. She always brought them her knew tea concoctions since they were some of the few that didn't react violently when she fails on making the tea taste good. Some would think that Doflamingo would punish her for bringing a bad drink to him, but he actually just laughed it off every time. He'd even pat her on the head, and tell her to try again. It was one of the few times that he showed genuine kindness._

 _"You're really persistent on trying to get this right, huh?" Gladius asked._

 _"Yes," Wren said smiling. "I think it's fun to try and get the right flavor combinations. Thank-you for trying the tea every time I bring it."_

 _She then held up the tray holding three cups towards them, and the three men who took them. She stepped back biting her lip as she watched them bring the cups up towards their mouths. They slowly took sips from the cup, and when they didn't immediately spit them out, Wren took that as a good sign. They swallowed what they drank, and Wren leaned forward waiting for a reply._

 _"Hmm, this is really good, Wren." Gladius said then took another sip._

 _Wren looked at it him wide eyes while wondering if she really had received a compliment for her tea._

" _Yes, it has a sweet aroma with a taste that's pleasing to the mouth." Senor Pink added._

 _Wren looked at Senor Pink with even more shock, but then a smile slowly started to pull across her lips. She gasped a bit in shock when Doflamingo pat her on top the head. She tilted her head back at him as he grinned down at her._

" _You've finally done it, Wren." Doflamingo said as he stroked her hair. "All your hard work payed off. I am proud of you."_

 _Wren's eyes widened since Doflamingo has never come out to say he was proud of her before. Wren then smiled up brightly at the tall blonde man with the first genuinely happy smile she's ever given him._

" _I'm happy you all like it!" Wren said._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Wren sighed remembering that she had been warming up to Doflamingo back then before what he had done to Corazon. She had actually been thinking that she could have a life as a pirate and enjoy it. And she had thought that maybe she could grow to see Doflamingo as a comrade—maybe even as family. However, Doflamingo killing Corazon had been like a slap to the face to remind her that he was nothing but pure evil. It was a lesson hard learned, and a mistake she swore to never make again. Wren then gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and when the smell of smoke entered her nose, one person came to mind.

 _…Cora-san…_

Wren quickly turned her head to the side to see that Sanji was looking at her with concern in her eyes, which brought her back to the present and where she was. She looked away from Sanji while feeling a twinge in her heart. How stupid was she? She knew perfectly well that Corazon was dead, so why…why did she have the fleeting feeling that he was right beside her?

"Wren-chan, are you alright?" Sanji asked. "You seem as if you're troubled."

"I'm alright." Wren said. "Just remembering something from my past. I better get this tea to Nami. It's getting late."

Wren picked up the tray to easily balance in one hand before she left the kitchen. Sanji watched her go while hoping that she was really okay. She looked as if she had seen a ghost when she first whirled around to look at Sanji at first. However, a split second later she turned away seeming disappointed. Just what had she been thinking about?


	5. The Nameless Snow Island

_Wren looked around the dark hallway she was in with a frown on her face. How did she get here? Where was here?_

 _"Wren."_

 _Wren's eyes widened when hearing that familiar voice that she hasn't heard for eleven years. She slowly turned around to see Corazon standing there looking the same as she last saw him before he was horribly wounded then killed. He was looking at her with a somber look as she felt tears enter her eyes._

 _"Cora-san." Wren said as she stepped forward._

 _"You're no better than Doffy." Corazon said, which had Wren stopping in her tracks._

 _Her eyes widened more as she wondered if she really heard Corazon just say that._

 _"He's taught you well on how to lie, cheat, manipulate, and kill." Corazon said. "He has made you into just like him….you're a monster."_

 _Tears started rolling down her cheeks as Corazon glared at her as if he hated her._

 _"No, Cora-san, I'm not." Wren said as she stepped forward. "I…I know I'm not a good person, but I'm not like Doflamingo!"_

 _"Are you so sure?" Corazon said. "Look at everything you've done in the last eleven years, and then come back and try to tell me the same thing."_

 _He then vanished before Wren's eyes, which had her calling out to him and begging him not to go._

 _"Cora-san!" Wren screamed._

Wren gasped with her eyes snapping open as she jumped to sit up straighter in her chair. She took deep, huffing breaths as she looked around to see she was in the women's quarters of the Going Merry. She took a few more breaths to try and calm her quickly thumping heart. She then let out a sigh as she hid her face in her hands for a moment while feeling a bit of sweat collected on her face.

"A dream." She whispered as she moved her hands away from her face. "Just a horrible, hellish nightmare."

And after having a nightmare like that she knew she wouldn't be going back to sleep for the rest of the night. She let out another breath before standing up from the chair that was at Nami's bedside. She zipped up her coat then grabbed her blanket to put around her shoulders. She carefully stepped over the others to reach the steps, so she could head up into the galley. Once in the galley, she walked out onto the main deck into the cold night air.

She looked up at the night sky, which was surprising clear even though so near a winter island. She stared up at the stars for a moment as they twinkled up in the darkened sky. They were so beautiful and unattached from this world and its problems. During nights like this...after a horrible nightmare Wren would wish she could be a star, so to free herself of all burdens. However, to her that was the cowardly way out of things, and she refused to be a coward, so she tended to push that wish to the side pretty quickly.

"Wren-chan."

Wren blinked then looked up to see Sanji, who was in the crow's nest, looking down at her. Oh, that's right, he was on watch duty tonight.

"Is something wrong, Wren-chan?" Sanji asked looking worried. "With Nami?"

"Nami is sound asleep." Wren replied. "I just needed some fresh air."

Sanji tilted his head to the side noticing that there was a haunted look in Wren's eyes. He immediately realized that she had to have had a nightmare. Sanji climbed out of the crow's nest to start heading down to the deck. Once he made it to the bottom he walked over to Wren.

"How about I make hot chocolate for you, my dear?" Sanji suggested as he smiled at Wren while putting his arm around her shoulders. "Warm chocolate will surely warm you up and sooth your body."

Wren let out a soft sigh supposing she could go for some hot chocolate. However, she shook her head.

"I do not wish to bother you, Sanji-san." Wren said. "Besides, don't you need to keep a look out?"

"It won't be a problem at all, Wren-chan." Sanji said as his smile turned gentle. "I can whip some up in a jiffy, and be back out here to keep a look out in no time at all. Please, it would give me peace of mind if I knew you were warmed up."

"…thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said finally. "It would be nice to warm up."

Sanji nodded his head then led Wren up towards the galley, so he could make her a nice hot chocolate. Once they were inside the galley, Sanji had Wren sit down at the table.

"And something else to keep you warm." Sanji said as he took off his blanket to put around Wren.

He then went over to the kitchen space to get started on the hot chocolate as Wren sat silently at the table. There was a comfortable silence between the two as Sanji worked, but Wren felt the need to break it since she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts.

"Sanji-san, this may seem out of the blue, but may I ask why you chose to be a pirate?" Wren asked.

Sanji turned his head to look at Wren as she was looking back at him with curiosity coloring her expression.

"Of course, you may ask, Wren-chan." Sanji said. "Honestly, I never thought about being a pirate until Luffy showed up one day. He ended up being the chore boy to the Baratie, which was the restaurant I worked at. He asked me to join his crew, but I declined even though I had a wish to someday come to the Grand Line in the search of the All Blue. Some crazy stuff happened after that, and in the end…I decided to leave the Baratie to come pirating with Luffy."

So Sanji was one of those pirates that set out to sea for a dream. Not a goal or ambition, but a pure dream to find something special in this world. Wren was raised into the pirate world not to believe in dreams that could be deemed as silly or anything of the sort. However, she has to say she has a fondness for the pirates with dreams and who believe in the theoretically impossible or in something that seems too magical to be real.

"I've heard of the Baratie." Wren said. "It's a quite famous floating restaurant in the East Blue, isn't it? I heard the food there was something out of this world, and that the chefs there act much like pirates."

Sanji grinned looked quite proud as he nodded his head, and Wren felt her own lips turn up into a small smile.

"The food was so amazing because of me and the Crap-geezer." Sanji said chuckling. "With me gone it's probably only half as good."

His grin widened while sure Patti would raise all kinds of hell if he heard Sanji talk like he is now.

"It seems like Luffy-sama picked up quite a gem then when looking for his chef." Wren complimented.

"Haha, Wren-chan, you're too kind~" Sanji said as his cheeks became flushed.

Wren chuckled at his expression as he finished making the hot chocolate for her. He set it out in front of her while giving a slight bow.

"For you, Mademoiselle." He said.

Wren looked down at the mug of hot chocolate, which was topped with whip cream and marshmallows.

"Thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said as she picked up the mug then took a cautious experimental sip since she didn't wish to burn her tongue. "It's delicious."

"You're welcome, Wren-chan." Sanji said grinning. "And I'm glad you like it. Well, I should probably get back to the crow's nest."

"I'll go with you." Wren said as she stood up. "I'd rather be out in the cold with you than in here by myself."

Sanji felt his heart thump oddly in his chest when Wren said that with that small smile on her face. She…she wanted to be outside in the cold with him? He immediately got an image of him and Wren cuddled closely in the crow's nest, and Wren huddling even closer for warmth, which brought a goofy love struck smile to his face. Wren sweat-dropped when seeing the weird expression on his face while wondering if she should have worded her sentence differently. It was just that she didn't want to be alone, but Sanji seemed to be thinking about something else.

"If that's what you want, Wren-chan!" Sanji said as he put his arm around her. "I'm more than thrilled to spend time with such a beautiful lady to cuddle and stargaze. Think of me as your personal heater for the night, and snuggle as close as you want.~"

"O…okay…" Wren said while not sure what else to say.

She wasn't used to being so stumped by a man, and not knowing what to say since she's always been one to be able come up with words or retorts in split seconds. She was told once that it was due to her metaphorically silver tongue. As Sanji was leading Wren outside towards the crow's nest, her nightmare was almost forgotten…almost, but yet it still remained in the back of her mind ready to rear its head at any given moment.

* * *

 _Wren sat beside Law with a curious look on her face as Corazon stood in front of the two of them. They were taking a small break on a warm and peaceful island when Corazon decided to demonstrate his devil fruit powers for them._

 _"Now look at this, Law, Wren!" Corazon said as he held up his hands. "This will cause anything I interact with not to make any noise! Calm!"_

 _He placed his hand on his chest with this purple aura spreading out to make an orb around his body. The orb like aura vanished, and a second later Corazon pulled out a vase to smash to the ground. It made no noise whatsoever, which had Wren going "ooo" in awe. However, Law wasn't impressed at all. In fact, he gave Corazon a deadpanned expression as the tall blonde man throughout a peace sign while grinning idiotically._

 _"Cora-san is funny." Wren giggled behind her hand._

 _Corazon's grin grew before he went off to the side for a moment. The two kids blinked as they wondered what he was doing. Their eyes widened a bit when he brought out a bazooka. He put the bazooka on his shoulder while kneeling down on the ground. He turned to give them a peace sign and a big grin as he fired the bazooka at the mountainside. It made no noise at all when the cannonball hit the mountainside, and there was no noise as chunks of rock fell to the ground._

 _"The direction of his eyes." Law grumbled._

 _"That seems really unsafe." Wren added as she sweat-dropped._

 _Corazon just kept grinning as he tossed the bazooka away since he was done with it. He then struck an odd pose while doing the same peace sign. Wren and Law tilted their heads having no idea what he was doing now. However, a foul smell then reached their noses, which had them gagging._

 _"Cora-san, that stinks!" Wren whined as she covered her nose. "And it's rude to let out farts like that!"_

 _Corazon just laughed as he dropped the power of his devil fruit, which allowed him to be heard again._

 _"See?" Corazon asked. "You heard nothing, right?!"_

 _"What is that ability good for?!" Law demanded as he stood up. "It's not even cool!"_

 _Corazon winced looking as if he was in pain when Law said those words so bluntly._

 _"Baby 5's Buki-Buki no Mi is much better than that!" Law added._

 _Corazon winced again, which had Wren looking at him in concern. Was Law's words really causing him physical pain?_

 _"Damn! You're right!" Corazon said. "I wish I had that power….but no one can have a quiet sleep like me…"_

 _"Whatever!" Law snapped._

 _The two of them then whirled around to look at Wren when laughter started to leave her mouth. She had a big grin on her face as she continued to let out peals of laughter._

 _"Eh? What's so funny, Wren?" Law asked frowning._

 _"Niisan and Cora-san." Wren asked as she kept smiling._

 _Law's frown deepened as he blushed a bit in embarrassment. He didn't appreciate being called funny._

 _"You two make me laugh because you make me happy." Wren added as her smile widened._

 _Law's eyes widened when she said that so sincerely and innocently. Corazon smiled brightly while quickly scooping up Wren into his arms._

 _"Wren is such a sweet kid!" Corazon said as he rubbed his cheek against hers. "So much better than Law!"_

 _"Oi, what'd you say?!" Law demanded._

 _Wren laughed again as Law told Corazon to shut his damn trap. Corazon just ignored Law as he continued to hold onto Wren._

This time when Wren's eyes opened she felt more at peace from the pleasant dream she had of a fond memory. She also felt pleasantly warm, which confused her for a moment. However, once she lifted her head off her "pillow" to see Sanji who was fast sleep, and her "pillow" was actually his chest, she remembered about last night. That's right she joined him in the crow's nest last night. It appears they both had fallen asleep, which surprised Wren since she usually never goes back to sleep after a nightmare. Of course, she barely sleeps at all because of nightmares. Yet she had been able to sleep through the night.

"Ah, are you awake, Wren-chan?"

Wren lifted her gaze up to see Sanji smiling down at her as he kept one arm around her shoulders.

"Yes." Wren said. "I'm sorry for using you as a pillow."

"There's no reason to apologize, my sweet!" Sanji said with his eye in the shape of a heart. "Please, feel free to use me as your personal pillow whenever you wish!~"

Wren doubted she'd be sleeping this close to any of her crewmates again. She hadn't meant to sleep beside Sanji to begin with, but she had seemed to have dozed off last night. She must have been sleepier than she thought. After going so many nights without enough sleep, her body will just refuse to stay up any longer.

"I should go check on Nami-san." Wren said as she pulled away from Sanji. "Thank-you for allowing me to keep you company, Sanji-san."

Sanji was about to reply, but the words caught in his throat when Wren gently pulled his cover more tightly around him. She gave him a soft smile that took his breath away.

"Stay warm, Sanji-san." Wren said. "One sick crewmate is all we need on this ship."

Before Sanji could recover to reply to her, Wren was already making her way down the rope ladder to the bottom of the deck. Sanji blinked as he recovered from his shock. That smile Wren just gave him…it didn't have the same distant touch to it as all the others. It was a genuinely warm, caring smile that had his heart thumping in his chance loudly. Sanji stood up from the crow's nest to look down at Wren as she was telling Usopp a good morning with that kind yet distance smile back on her face. What had her reverting back to a smile that was tinged with sadness?

* * *

Wren, who had passed Vivi just a moment ago, walked down into the women's quarters when she heard a lot of noise. She looked towards Nami's bed curiously to see Luffy, who had drawn a funny face on his face was making faces at a freaked out Zoro.

"You two are surely lively this morning." She commented as she walked towards Nami's bedside.

"Oh, hey, Wren." Luffy said grinning at her.

Zoro just frowned as he got up off the ground to lean against the bookshelf by Nami's bed.

"Good-morning, Luffy-sama, Zoro-san." Wren greeted. "How is our navigator?"

Wren walked over to get a look at Nami herself as Luffy sat back down in the chair at Nami's bedside.

"Not good." Luffy said pouting. "She won't even laugh at the funny faces I'm making to make her feel better."

Wren lightly chuckled as she pat Luffy on top the head. He was obviously a kind hearted person.

"Don't worry." Wren said. "We'll be arriving to Drum Island shortly. The weather has calmed down, which is a telltale sign that an island is nearby."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the group heard Sanji shout out from above that he spotted land. That was good too since Nami's fever was once more making a raging comeback. Wren hoped that Kureha had some kind of antidote or knew some kind of way to help Nami.

"Are you serious?!" Luffy asked then looked back to the unconscious Nami. "Oh, an island! We found an island! Hey, Nami, did you hear that?! This means we can get you to a real doctor. He'll fix you up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Wren blinked looking down at Luffy's foot, which has been bouncing up and down on the floor repeatedly in excitement as he continued speaking.

"Just go already." Zoro said.

"Yes, Luffy-sama, we will watch after her." Wren said. "And remember we're here to find Dr. Kureha for Nami."

"Right!" Luffy said as he bounced up out of his seat.

He then ran out of the women's quarters, so Wren took the seat he left unoccupied.

"He didn't grab a coat." Wren commented.

"He'll realize that…eventually." Zoro replied.

Wren wondered just how long it would take Luffy to realize he wasn't wearing a coat in a climate that was always below freezing. Wren reached up to place her hand on Nami's forehead, and she frowned when feeling that the navigator's temperature has gone up even more.

"How is she doing?" Zoro said.

"I won't lie." Wren said as she glanced at Zoro. "We're cutting it close. Nami-san could have a little under a full day left."

Zoro frowned because that wasn't good at all. He might find Nami annoying nine times out of ten, but he didn't want to lose her since she's part of his nakama. Wren then looked up with a troubled expression on her face.

"Something wrong?" Zoro asked.

"You should go up on deck." Wren said. "I suspect we'll be running into trouble before we can set foot on this island."

Zoro's brow quirked as he wondered what Wren was talking about. Was this like with what happened yesterday with that Wapol guy? Did Wren sense something he couldn't?

"Alright." Zoro said. "Whatever."

As Zoro was leaving the women's quarters, Karoo came down the stairs. He went to join Wren by Nami, and the pirate woman reached out to pat Karoo on top the head, which had him leaning into her side.

"I really hope there is no more trouble." Wren said. "We cannot afford any more delays."

Karoo looked at Nami worriedly as he placed his head in Wren's lap, so she could continue to pet him. A few moments later Wren could hear shouting from above, but ignored it. However, when the first shot rang out, she paused in petting Karoo. When the second one rang out, she was up on her feet while heading for the stairs, but not before grabbing her sword. Wren was up on the deck seconds later to see the entire ship surrounded by scared villagers with guns. Those two things are never good combinations.

"Now what is going on here?" Wren asked as she looked to the large man who was undoubtedly the leader of these men. "Dalton?"

Everyone froze to look at Wren as she walked up the steps to join her crewmates and Vivi at the front of the ship.

"It…It's Saturn Wren!" One of the men shouted. "The Nightmare Witch!"

Wren smirked over at that villager, and he backed up a good few feet while gulping. The man Wren called Dalton frowned down at Wren as she turned her one visible eye on her.

"Are there any problems here, Captain?" Wren asked as she glanced down at Vivi and Luffy who were bowing towards Dalton.

"No, Wren." Luffy said. "We're just asking these people to let us take Nami to that doctor you mentioned."

Wren nodded her head then looked back at Dalton with her one red eye narrowing at him. Zoro looked between the two seeing that Wren's gaze was practically daring Dalton to do something that'd he most likely regret. Dalton's frown deepened as he looked away from Wren.

"I'll show you to our village." Dalton said finally as he turned away from the pirates. "Follow me."

* * *

Wren walked beside Sanji, who was carrying Nami, as the two of them, Luffy, Usopp, and Vivi walked with Dalton and his men towards their village. Wren looked around at the snow with a frown on her face. Oh how she hated snow and winter islands. They bring her such horrible memories.

"There is one thing I fear I should warn you about though." Dalton said as they walked. "The only doctor we have here is actually a witch."

Wren's crewmates and Vivi looked at Dalton with wide eyes as she resisted the urge to snort in an unladylike manner.

"Huh, a witch?" Usopp asked.

"Dr. Kureha isn't a witch." Wren said then looked to the side with a frown. "Witches don't even compare to how scary she is."

Usopp gulped wondering what kind of woman this Dr. Kureha was. She really had to be scary if Wren, who was like the personification of fear, was calling this woman scarier than witches.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sanji said. "Everything about this country is messed up."

"That's Drum Island for you." Wren said shrugging.

"Actually…that is no longer this island's name." Dalton said. "After a certain incident, this island has become nameless."

Wren tilted her head to the side as her visible eye narrowed. She knew Dalton had to be speaking about when Blackbeard came to this island and dethroned Wapol.

"An island without a name?" Vivi asked. "I didn't know that was possible."

"Well, before my ancestors founded Era, Millennia Island was nameless." Wren said. "So my ancestors named it as well. I suppose the people of the former Drum Kingdom just haven't found their new name as of yet."

Dalton frowned at the name of their former kingdom as he continued to lead the group to his village. Wren then sensed something coming towards them at a leisure pace. Since it didn't seem threatening she lifted her head curiously. She saw a hiking bear about to cross paths with them as it was hiking (naturally) through the snow.

"Waaah! A bear!" Usopp exclaimed. "Hurry everyone! Pretend to be dead."

He fell over into the snow as everyone else kept moving, which left the sniper the only one laying in the snow.

"A hiking bear—he poses no threat." Dalton said. "Don't forget to bow. It's proper manners."

Wren bowed along with everyone else, and the hiking bear returned the gesture. Once the bear passed, Wren started to walk alongside Sanji again. Wren reached out to pull Nami's hood over her head even more, so to keep her warm before she glanced back at Usopp.

"Should we go back for Usopp-san?" Wren asked.

"Nah, he'll get up and follow eventually." Sanji said.

Wren nodded her head as continued to walk alongside Sanji towards Dalton's village. Wren let out a sigh as she looked up at the sky, which was covered in thick, gray snow clouds as said snow continued to fall. Being on an island like this only brings her memories she'd rather keep in the back of her mind never to be relived again.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren stared back at Corazon's body as large tears rolled down her cheeks, and she didn't even try to hide them. She was being carried by Gladius back to the ship as Doflamingo was walking away from his brother. Doflamingo passed Gladius and Wren to walk in front of the others, and when he was passing, he pat Wren on top the head. She wanted to smack his hand away and to yell at him for being a monster. But she couldn't. Corazon gave her the chance to make Doflamingo see she was loyal to keep her family safe, and she wouldn't waste what he's done for her._

 _"We'll be sure to warm you up on the ship, Wren." Doflamingo said._

 _He continued walking on by as Wren let out a sob as she hugged Gladius around his neck._

 _"It's alright, Wren." Gladius said as he soothingly rubbed her back. "You're back with your family, and that bastard Corazon is taken care of. You don't have to worry about him anymore."_

 _Wren just let out another sob as she continued to look back at Corazon's body. Her eyes widened a bit when seeing Corazon lift his hand weakly to give her a peace sign. He then barely managed to lift his head to give her one final grin, and as he grinned at her, she remembers Corazon's last true words to her._

 ** _"Wren, I love you! And I know you'll protect your family!"_**

 _Wren tried to give him a grin in return, but she was sure it came out more like a grimace. Corazon's grin widened for a split second before his head fell back onto the snow. As they stopped at the ship, Wren watched as Law climbed silently out of the large chest that Corazon had hid him inside. Law looked back to her as his own tears rolled down his cheeks._

 _'Go, Law.' Wren mouthed. 'Be free!'_

 _Law's eyes widened, but he slowly nodded his head before stumbling away. As Wren watched him go, she realized that once again that she lost her family._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

"Oi, Wren! Wren, are you listening?"

Wren snapped out of that horrible memory to see Luffy, who had his neck stretched out behind him to put his face right in hers, had a curious look in his eyes.

"Sorry, Luffy-sama, I was just thinking." Wren said.

"About what?" Luffy asked as his head snapped back into place.

Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi looked at her while curious about what she was thinking about so hard that she literally zoned out for a moment. Wren gave them a smile as she chuckled.

"About how much I hate snow countries." She said bluntly.

Some of the villagers glared at her for saying that, but she completely ignored them. Dalton just looked at her with an unreadable expression as she kept smiling. Sanji looked at her in concern when noticing that her smile was tight as well as her eyes. And even if her eyes remained clear, he felt as if she was crying now. Sanji opened his mouth to ask if she was really alright, but Dalton spoke before he could.

"This is the village where we live." Dalton said as the pirates and one princess looked forward to see they arrived at a village. "It's name is Big Horn."

Wren remembered the first time she came through this village. She had been wounded from a fight she had with some pirates who thought they could double cross Doflamingo. The only reason she had gotten wounded was because one of her cowardly subordinates ran into her as he was trying to get away, which shoved her in the path of the enemy captain's sword. Then to make things worse that subordinate was the doctor sent along on their voyage, and he had gotten killed since he was so weak, which meant Wren hadn't had anyone to treat her after the battle.

Her other subordinates managed to get her here, and Kureha had been passing through this village at the time. She ended up saving Wren's life since the wound had been pretty deep. Then the old hag took nearly all the supplies Wren had on her ship as payment. Wren frowned knowing she'd probably need to show up with some kind of gift for Kureha in hopes the old woman didn't try to strip the Going Merry as payment.

"I need to buy some plum wine." Wren said mostly to herself as her friends were checking out the village and the animals walking around.

"Plum wine?" Vivi asked.

Wren either didn't hear Vivi's question, or she ignored the princess since she didn't give a reply.

"Look, Nami, we've made it to a village with people." Sanji said as he walked forward with Wren keeping her hand on Nami's back as she walked with Sanji. "We're here."

However, they still had to track down Kureha, or try to get up to her castle home on top of one of the mountains. Dalton's men then dispersed after Dalton dismissed them.

"You mean those men weren't your land security forces?" Vivi asked Dalton.

"No, they're just ordinary citizens." Dalton said. "Come to my house for now."

Wren wanted to find Kureha as soon as possible, but getting Nami somewhere warm for now was more important. Besides, they needed to figure out their next move.

"Hey, look over there, Luffy! It's another one of those hiking bears!" Usopp said as he looked at a large woman in a fur coat walking towards them.

"Another one?!" Luffy asked.

Wren sweat-dropped as Luffy and Usopp bowed towards the woman who called out to Dalton. She didn't know if it was humorous or sad that they mistook the woman for a hiking bear.

"I heard pirates landed on the island." The woman said. "I hope everything is alright."

"Yes, everything's fine." Dalton assured her. "There's nothing to worry about."

The woman nodded smiling, and as she was leaving Luffy and Usopp bowed to her begin.

"They still haven't realized she's human?" Wren asked.

"They're morons." Sanji said as if that explained it all.

Wren shook her head as another person, who had a big grin on his face, called out to Dalton.

"Just want you to know, Dalton, I'm looking forward to the election in two days." The old man said. "Everyone I've talked to said they're going to vote for you!"

"I'm sure you're not serious about that." Dalton said as he held up his hands. "I'm just an ordinary citizen that's all."

Wren held back a snort while believing that Dalton was painfully humble. To her he seemed like the perfect choice to lead over these people. They obviously respect him, and already look to him for help.

"May we please move on?" Wren asked politely. "Nami shouldn't be out in this weather for too long."

"Yes, of course." Dalton said. "Please, follow me."

* * *

Wren sat down beside the bed Nami was placed in as Vivi was covering up the panting navigator.

"Horā-Horā: Salamander." Wren said while pointing at Nami.

Suddenly a large on fire salamander that was about the length of Nami appeared above the navigator.

"Keep her warm, but don't cook her." Wren said to the salamander.

The salamander hissed at her in reply, but not in an unfriendly manner. It downed some of its flames, and nearly turned black with only some of his spots on his body burning like embers. He laid down across Nami as Wren crossed one leg over the other.

"What is that?" Vivi asked with wide eyes.

"A fire salamander." Wren explained. "It's classified as a dangerous monster on an island in the second half of the Grand Line. They get much bigger than this, and can destroy towns with ease. And anything that is classified as a monster is something I can summon and control."

Wren then reached out to pet the salamander on top the head, which had it making a happy purring noise as it leaned into her touch.

"I guess I should introduce myself." Dalton said as he took his weapon off his back. "My name is Dalton. I'm the captain of the island's security squad. Please, forgive our less than friendly welcome."

Wren just silently glanced over at Dalton, who was looking curiously at Vivi, as she continued to pet the salamander on top its head. It continued to make the purring noise as its lukewarm body kept Nami comfortable.

"Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" Dalton asked Vivi. "It's just that…you look familiar to me for some reason."

Vivi looked away from Dalton quickly while looking a bit panicked by Dalton's question.

"No, I just have one of those faces I guess!" Vivi said quickly. "Anyway can you tell us more about this doctor—or witch if that is?"

"What we really need to know is where she is." Wren said. "Because we need her to see to Nami-san as immediately as possible. Her temperature hit 107 last night, and has not gone down. However, she has had a high fever for days, and it keeps climbing."

Dalton looked alarmed when hearing this, and Wren could understand why. Nami's lucky she isn't dead already, or suffered any brain damage.

"Please, tell me she is making her random rounds in one of the villages." Wren said. "And not up in her castle."

"Honestly, I don't know." Dalton said. "There has been no word of her coming down from the castle though."

Wren frowned because getting up that mountain was going to be a pain. The lifts that go up to the mountains haven't been active in a while, so she doubted they could use those things.

"Castle?" Sanji asked. "And down from where? Just where is this witch exactly? Because we need some kind of doctor even if she is a witch!"

"The witch? Do you see those mountains outside the window?" Dalton asked.

"Yeah, I noticed them earlier." Sanji said as he glanced out the window.

However, when he looked out the window all he saw was a large snowman in his line of sight. Wren's brow quirked as she looked at the snowman as well. Did…Luffy and Usopp make that thing? Sanji growled going up to the window as Wren vaguely heard Luffy and Usopp laughing and talking excitedly outside.

"Get in here before I kill you!" Sanji snapped.

Wren shook her head as Sanji ran outside to deal with Luffy and Usopp as Dalton was getting the fire going. By the time the boys came back inside, Dalton had coffee made to give out to them. Wren politely declined his offer of coffee since Wren wasn't much a coffee drinker. She only drinks it when she needs to stay awake after making many days without proper sleep.

"Those mountains out there are known as the Drum Rockies." Dalton explained. "Look closely. Do you see the castle at the top of the tallest one? The one in the middle?"

Sanji looked out the window up to the tallest mountain top to see some kind of outline of some kind of structure.

"Castle?" Usopp asked.

"That castle lost its king." Dalton said.

"It could always have a new one." Wren commented as she glanced over towards Dalton.

He frowned knowing what she was implying, but he made no comment. Wren grinned in amusement when he pointedly ignored her.

"Yeah, I see it up there." Sanji said.

"What's so important about the castle?" Vivi asked.

"Dr. Kureha lives there." Wren replied. "She took me there for treatment when I came to this island wounded. Not only did I have a large gash in my side, but the blade that had sliced me was coated in poison. However, though she treated me there, she picked me up here in this very village, and I was very lucky she was making a stop here."

Wren's crewmates looked at her with wide eyes as she continued to sit straight and properly in her seat.

"What?!" Sanji asked. "Of all places why does she have to live on top of a mountain?! We need to call her here right away! Nami needs her help."

Wren sighed knowing Sanji isn't going to like what's about to be said. She doesn't like it at all either.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there's no way to contact her." Dalton said.

"Which is why I asked if she was in her castle or making her rounds." Wren added. "Dr. Kureha chooses when she comes down to check on the people of this island, which is why I said I was lucky she was making a stop here when I needed a doctor."

Sanji couldn't believe what he was hearing. They finally got here to get Nami to a doctor, and this one only comes down to help people when she feels like it!

"What kind of doctor is she?!" Sanji demanded.

"Her skills as a doctor are quite impressive actually." Dalton said. "However, she's an eccentric old woman. She's nearly a 140 years old now."

Wren knew that if Kureha was here right now that she'd hit Dalton for saying 140 since she's only a 139.

"A 140?" Sanji asked. "No wonder she doesn't get around much."

"Oh, one more thing, she likes pickled plums." Dalton added.

Wren made a note to maybe pick up some of those too before heading to see Kureha. Maybe the old woman would cut Wren a deal.

"What happens when people here get sick or injured?" Vivi asked. "Doesn't she help them?"

"As I said she sometimes comes down from the castle to check on the people." Wren said. "However, none of that is important right now. We can't keep sitting around and discussing Dr. Kureha. We should hurry to get Nami to her."

"You know that is dangerous." Dalton said. "We should just wait until she comes down the mountain."

Wren looked at Dalton sharply, which had him stiffening as he felt as if she was looking right through him.

"We can't wait leisurely for Dr. Kureha to come here." Wren said. "I can no longer hold back Nami-san's fever, or slow her infection. She has twenty-four hours at the least, and it might take that amount of time to a week before Dr. Kureha decides to come down again."

Wren then looked at Luffy as he was looking over at Nami who was still sound asleep.

"The choice if yours, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "We can wait here, and Nami-san will most definitely die before Dr. Kureha could see to her. Or we could go up the mountain to get her the helps she needs immediately."

"Wren-san, it wouldn't be possible to take Nami up the mountain!" Vivi said. "Look out tall and steep it is. And taking her out into the snow could make her worse!"

"She's getting worse as we speak." Wren said. "If her body gets any hotter, she will die."

Vivi frowned knowing that, but taking Nami out in such terrain could kill her.

"What we have to ask ourselves is what sort of risks we are willing to take to get Nami-san better." Wren said then looked back to Luffy. "What do you think, Captain?"

"…We'll go up the mountain…" Luffy finally decided.

"As you wish." Wren said as she dipped her head to Luffy.

She then stood up while ignoring her crewmates' protests as she turned towards Dalton.

"I need to borrow a sled, Dalton-san." Wren said. "An old one will do."

* * *

Wren stared out at the snowy landscape in front of them as she, the boys, and Nami sat in the old sled that Dalton loaned them. The sled was being pulled by a three-headed dog beast that Wren had conjured. It was pulling them across the snow with ease and swiftness, which was blowing back the group's hair and clothes. So Wren made sure Nami was bundled up in her winter clothes, and covered with at least two covers.

"Whoa, this is so awesome!" Luffy, who was riding on the dog's back, shouted as he laughed happily. "Go, doggie! Faster!"

The three-headed dog, Cerberus, picked up its pace, which had Luffy laughing even harder.

"This will surly get us to the mountain." Sanji said. "But how are we going to climb the mountain?"

"I will handle that as well." Wren assured Sanji. "Just please can keep an eye out for the Lapahns."

Dalton had warned the group about the Lapahns of this island, and while Wren didn't meet the ones on this island the last time she was here, she knew how dangerous Lapahns could be. In the seas of the North Blue, Sea Lapahns roam free, and can cause some serious damage to a person or persons.

"Leave it to me, Wren-chan!" Sanji said. "I'll keep you and Nami-chan safe!"

Wren nodded her head then looked out at the snowy landscape again as Cerberus kept running across the snow. The sooner they finished their business here the better. She wishes to leave this place. As they were heading for the mountain, Sanji and Luffy conversed, but Wren kept her focus on Nami. As Wren was pulling the second cover over Nami's head, another memory of the past came to her.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren and Law remained huddle together on the snowy steps to the house Corazon told them to wait at. It seemed as if the temperature dropped several degrees since Corazon left them here. Wren looked at Law in concern as he gave a violent shudder. He was getting worse, and he only had hours left at the least. When Law gave another shudder, Wren stood up while taking the blanket off her shoulders._

 _"Wren," Law began. "What are you—?!"_

 _Law's eyes widened as Wren put her cover around him. She made sure it was around him tightly, so to keep some of the chill off of him._

 _"Don't worry, Niisan." Wren said as she smiled at him. "You're going to be okay. I'll keep you safe and alive until Corazon can save you from your sickness."_

 _Law looked at Wren with a shocked expression as she gently stroked his head as if he was the younger one._

 _"I'll stay by your side and not move an inch away until you're well again." Wren promised him. "Just hold on for a bit longer, Niisan."_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Wren looked softly at Nami as if it was the young, sick Law sitting beside her right now. Wren pat Nami on top the head as the navigator continued to snooze.

"Don't worry, Nami-san." Wren said. "I'll keep you alive until we can reach Dr. Kureha."

Wren then looked up when she sensed multiple presences near them, and one was closing in.

"A Lapahn." Wren said.

Just as the words left her mouth, a small Lapahn came soaring at Luffy, but he ducked his head to avoid getting hit. Wren glanced back at the baby Lapahn as it got up from where it had hit the snowy ground hard. He snarled at them while looking ready to gear for an attack again. It was a persistent little fella. It tried to attack Sanji next, but Sanji dodged it as well while he and Luffy carried out their conversation. Wren watched as the Lapahn chopped down on a tree, which had it falling over.

"Cerberus, avoid the tree." Wren ordered calmly.

Cerberus shot forward in the blink of an eye that got it and the sled under the tree before it crashed to the ground. Well, that was a crisis avoided. She then looked towards her crewmates seeing that they were still conversing nonchalantly. It didn't seems as if they weren't fazed by much. As they continued talking, the Lapahn continued trying to attack the boys as Wren made sure to keep close to Nami in case it tried to attack the sleeping navigator.

The Lapahn tried attacking the boys a few more times before it turned its sights on Wren. Wren didn't move to dodge since she knew she didn't have to because Sanji was standing the second the Lapahn jumped towards Wren. Sanji kicked the Lapahn to send it flying as he looked pissed off.

"You shitty rabbit, how dare you try to attack the lovely Wren?!" Sanji snapped. "Stop being a pain in my ass!"

"Really, what was with that thing?" Luffy, who was still riding on Cerberus's back, asked.

Wren frowned sensing they were coming up towards more presences, and was certain it was more Lapahns that were most likely much bigger. It seemed she was right because seconds later they came over a hill, and there were many Lapahns blocking their path.

"What are these things?" Sanji asked.

"Well, they're big and they're white…so they must be…polar bears." Luffy said.

"No, they're Lapahns." Wren said. "The giant, carnivore rabbits that Dalton mentioned before we left. They have the strength of bears and the speed of rabbits with razor sharp claws that can rip through flesh with ease. We are in a bit of a pickle now."


	6. Dr Kureha! Is She A Witch Or A Doctor?

Wren looked at the group of Lapahns knowing they didn't have the time to spare to be slowed down by these oversized rabbits….these oversized cute rabbits. Wren bit her lip as she imagined how soft and fluffy those Lapahns were. Probably fluffier than the Sea Lapahns from the North Blue.

"Wren, you should keep going." Luffy said as he looked back at her. "And get Nami to the mountain. Sanji and I can deal with these guys."

Wren was about to suggest she stay behind instead, but heard Nami's voice, which had her pausing. Wren glanced at the navigator at the same time as Sanji and Luffy.

"Hurry…to…Alabas…" Nami murmured.

Wren almost wanted to chuckle in amusement at how worried Nami was about Vivi when she's the one at death's door.

"Nami, just rest." Luffy said as he moved into the sled. "We'll worry about that later, kay?"

"She's not even worried about her own life." Sanji said smiling. "Just hang in there a little while, Nami-chan."

He then turned to look at the Lapahns that remained in their way as Cerberus came to a halt. Sanji and Luffy jumped out of the sled as Cerberus snarled at the Lapahns.

"Down, boy." Sanji said as he and Luffy walked to stand in front of Cerberus. "You don't worry about these guys. You just worry about getting these two lovely ladies to the mountain, understand?"

All three of Cerberus's heads nodded in unison as they made slight growling noises as if to let Sanji know they did understand.

"Good." Sanji said then glanced at Wren. "Please, look after Nami-chan, Wren-chan."

"Nami-san will be fine." Wren said. "I'm more worried about the two of you."

Sanji gave Wren a grin that wasn't like his usually goofy love sick ones as he placed his cigarette back in his mouth.

"Don't worry, my dear." Sanji said. "We'll take care of these overfed bunnies, and be back to you in no time, I promise."

"Yeah, so get going." Luffy said as he grinned. "And we'll meet you at the top of the mountain."

Wren sighed still not sure about this plan of theirs, but she did nod her head. She told Cerberus to keep going as Luffy and Sanji ran forward to make a path. The boys attacked the Lapahns while hitting or kicking them out of the way to make a path for Cerberus to slip through while pulling the sled. Wren looked back at Sanji and Luffy as they continued fighting the Lapahns. She hopes they'll be okay. As Cerberus kept going, Wren pulled Nami close to give her some extra warmth.

"L…Luffy….Sanji." Nami murmured.

"Don't worry, Nami-san." Wren said. "They'll return to us. Sanji-san promised."

Nami just seemed to lean farther into Wren as the harsh snowy wind blew past them. Cerberus made it pretty far from where the Lapahns appeared earlier, and Wren could see that the mountain was getting much closer. There wasn't much farther to go. It seemed things were starting to look up. Cerberus managed to make it to the mountain a few short minutes later, and came to a halt at the bottom of the Drum Rockies. Wren stepped out of the sled while looking up to see the mountain disappeared into the clouds.

"It's time to start heading up." Wren said.

She snapped her fingers with Cerberus disappearing, which had the harness to the sled dropping to the ground since it no longer had anything to attach to. Wren then held out her hand to the right side of her.

"Horā-Horā: Snowy Wyvern." Wren said.

Soon a snowy colored dragon-like creature that was even bigger than Cerberus appeared beside Wren. It let out a hiss while dangerously flashing its fangs. Wren pet its side then went to retrieve Nami from the sled. Wren carefully picked up Nami with ease then walked back to the Wyvern. Wren jumped onto its back then gently set down Nami.

"Hurry and fly to the top of the mountain." Wren ordered the Wyvern.

It made a small screeching sound in confirmation before it started beating its large wings. It took off into the blizzardy winds to head straight up to get to the top of the Drum Rockies. Wren held Nami close while hoping they didn't somehow miss Kureha. The seasoned doctor had to be here…for Nami's sake. As they were flying to the top, Wren heard a rumbling sound from down below, which had her looking down. Now it wasn't completely clear, but she could have sworn that some kind of avalanche had been started. And it was making its way down the slope leading to the mountain side towards one of the towns.

"Sanji-san, Luffy-sama." Wren murmured while truly feeling worried for them.

Wren had to get Nami to the top faster than ever then hand the navigator over to Kureha. Then Wren could hurry back to go aid Luffy and Sanji. Finally the Wyvern made it to the top while letting out a roar, which had to alert Kureha that someone or something was outside her castle doors. The Wyvern landed on the snowy mountain top, so Wren jumped down from its back. She looked at the castle in front of her while not noticing any movement, but she could vaguely sense two presences in the area that didn't belong to herself, Nami, or the Wyvern.

"Dr. Kureha!" Wren shouted. "I know you're here! Please, come out. I have a patient for you!"

Wren then took a deep breath as she paused to wait for some kind of reply. She heard the sound of snow crunching and seconds letter Kureha was walking out the opened castle door with a large furry form following her.

 _…Chopper…_

Wren was glad to see the human-reindeer again, and if circumstances were different, she'd greet Chopper warmly. Kureha and Chopper stopped a few feet away from Wren as they finally reached her.

"So it's you again, girl." Kureha said. "Did you get cut by any poisonous swords lately?"

"No, but I have a girl with me who has some kind of infection that she most possibly received from Little Garden." Wren said. "It's been a couple of days, and her fever just keeps climbing higher."

"An infection from Little Garden you say?" Kureha said. "Sounds serious. Well, let me have a look at her."

Wren led Kureha over to the side of the Wyvern, so Kureha could climb onto its back to get to Nami. Kureha looked over Nami as Wren and Chopper stood side-by-side from down below.

"Yes, this girl is in horrible shape." Kureha said then opened up Nami's coat to look under her clothes. "She's dying, but it seems as if someone slowed down whatever is causing her fever."

Kureha looked at Wren as she said this, but the young woman was staring out over the mountain with a bothered expression on her face.

"Please, help her." Wren said as she looked towards Kureha. "I need to go retrieve two of my companions. There was an avalanche as I was heading up…they could be hurt."

"Three patients, huh?" Kureha asked. "How do you expect to pay me this time, Girlie? I know for a fact that you left your crew, so you can't have any supplies to give me."

"You can have all the treasure I took with me when I left Doflamingo." Wren said. "Every single last gold piece or golden artifact and beri."

Kureha stared silently at Wren for a moment as the wind blew around them to ruffle their hair. Chopper looked in between the two women as he wondered what Kureha would decide.

"All your treasure, huh?" Kureha said then grinned. "Fine, that'll do. Chopper, get this girl inside immediately."

"Yes, Docterine." Chopper said nodding.

He climbed up onto the Wyvern then picked up Nami carefully. He was careful as he climbed off the Wyvern, and as he was heading inside, Kureha jumped down beside Wren.

"You sure are concerned about a couple of acquaintances, Girlie." Kureha said. "Didn't think someone with a reputation such as yourselves could care like that. In fact, I seem to recall you not caring a lick about those pirates you left to die a few months back before you first landed here."

"They were my enemy." Wren said simply. "That girl and her crew are kind enough to give me a way to pass through the Grand Line. I only wish to show them the same courtesy as they are giving me."

Kureha lightly chuckled then watched as Wren climbed up onto the Wyvern's back. She gave a sharp whistle, which had the Wyvern flapping its wings to kick off into the air.

"I'll be back shortly." Wren said as she looked down at Kureha.

Wren then had the Wyvern head down towards the slope leading up to the mountain, which was covered in new snow due to the avalanche that had finally stopped. Wren frowned seeing it went all the way down to a village far from the mountain. She hoped Luffy and Sanji weren't carried down that far. She had to find them fast.

"Horā-Horā: Hellhounds." Wren said as she pointed down at the ground.

Five large dog beasts appeared down below on the ground, and they all snarled and snapped at each other dangerously. However, they quickly snapped their heads up in attention when Wren gave a sharp whistle.

"I'm looking for two humans buried in the snow. Find them." Wren ordered.

They let out howls before they split up to search the mountainside for Wren's crewmates. She knew they didn't need a piece of clothing or something Sanji and Luffy touched since Hellhounds smelled out souls instead of a person's actual scent. And all they had to look for were human souls. Wren had the Wyvern fly flow, so she could look for her crewmates as well. One of the hounds gave a baying howl suddenly, and Wren soon heard the others add in as they ran towards the source of the first howl.

"Follow the howls." Wren said.

The Wyvern let out a growl of confirmation then quickly flew towards the sound of the howling. When they made it to the where the hellhounds were circling, Wren saw Luffy holding Sanji under one arm while glaring at the hellhounds.

"You trying to pick a fight?" Luffy asked as he held up a fist.

"Luffy-sama, they mean no harm!" Wren called out, which got Luffy's attention. "They were just helping me find you."

Luffy looked relieved to see Wren, and if it was any other time, he'd get excited about the monsters she had conjured this time. The Wyvern landed on the snowy ground, so Wren jumped off its back.

"Are you alright?" Wren asked. "What happened to Sanji-san?"

"Those stupid bunnies started an avalanche, and Sanji and I got swallowed up in it after crashing into stumps!" Luffy said while looking at Sanji in worry. "He won't wake up."

Wren looked concerned when Luffy said this, but just quickly helped him get Sanji on the Wyvern's back.

"Is Nami alright?" Luffy asked. "Did you get her to the witch doctor?"

"Yes, Nami-san is being treated as we speak." Wren said nodding. "Now let's get Sanji-san to see Dr. Kureha."

Luffy nodded his head, but before he climbed onto the Wyvern, he noticed that baby Lapahn not far from them. It was crying as it was trying to dig out one of the large Lapahns.

"I'll be right back." Luffy said as he headed towards the Lapahns.

Wren watched him go, and as he got closer the baby Lapahn growled and hissed at him as it was trying to protect its fellow Lapahn. Luffy reached forward to grab the large Lapahn's paw, and with one tug he managed to pull it out of the snow. They caused Sanji and Luffy a lot of trouble yet he still helped them. Wren hasn't seen that kind of kindness in a while. Luffy then walked back to Wren, who was already on the Wyvern's back, as she had her hellhounds disappear.

"Okay, let's go." Luffy said as he climbed up as well.

"As you wish, Luffy-sama." Wren said nodding.

She gave a whistle, which had the Wyvern taking off into the sky to head towards the mountain. As they were flying, Wren noticed that Luffy lost his coat. She frowned knowing he had to be freezing. She took off her coat then scooted over to Luffy. She put her coat around him, which had him looking at her with wide eyes.

"This will keep you warm until we reach the top of the mountain." Wren said. "We can't have you getting sick, can we, Captain?"

"But won't you get cold?" Luffy asked.

"I have more winter appropriate clothes on than you." Wren said. "So I'll be fine."

Luffy didn't reply as he looked at Wren. She's been trying really hard to help all of them. He knew she is their nakama now, but it was almost like a mother taking care of her children. Or an older sister looking after for her younger siblings. Yeah, it more like that. Because how she was taking care of him reminded him of how Ace and Sabo looked out for him when they were all younger. Wren then went to check on Sanji who was still unconscious.

"Hey, hey, Straw Hat!"

Luffy and Wren blinked before looking down to see Wapol and two of his cronies riding on a large winter hippo that were common in this area.

"It's that guy." Luffy said frowning. "I owe him a beating! Wren, get Sanji to that doctor!"

Luffy was about to jump down to deal with Wapol, but Wren caught his wrist to stop him. He looked back at her as she was giving him a firm look.

"Luffy-sama, please, stop." Wren said. "The last time we were separated you and Sanji-san were caught up in an avalanche. We can't wrist you getting hurt just so to beat that man. Battling in snow like this can be difficult for people not used to it. Let's just reach the castle."

Luffy's frown deepened, but he slowly nodded his head. He sat back down on the Wyvern as it continued flying while ignoring Wapol.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Wapol shouted up at them.

He then went on to tell one of his cronies to write down a new law that forbid people to ignore him, and if they did then they'd meet death. Wren shook her head because that was a ridiculous law that not even Doflamingo had in Dressrosa.

"Chess, shoot them down!" Wapol then ordered.

"Yes, Wapol-sama." Chess said bowing.

He jumped off of the hippo, which came to a stop. He pulled out his bow and arrows, and as he was getting ready, Wren stood up while unsheathing her sword. Chess fired, and before the arrows were even close, Wren slashed at the air, which sent a screaming wave towards the arrows. The arrows were quickly destroyed by the screaming slash, which kept going until it hit the ground. The force of the scream and the scream itself created a small avalanche that covered Wapol and his men. However, it was just a small one, so it didn't go far down the mountain like the last.

"That should keep them out of our way for a while." Wren said.

She was about to sit down, but suddenly three gunshots rang out, one after the other through the air. Wren hadn't been expecting it at all, so when she felt a searing pain in her side she was completely shocked. She fell to her knees while still on the back of the Wyvern as blood soaked her clothes, which was caused by the three bullet holes in her side.

"Wren!" Luffy shouted in alarm.

He hurried to her side as she placed her hand on her side. Where had those shots come from? They definitely weren't from Wapol or his men. Wren looked to the side to look down below. She vaguely caught sight of a figure peeking around a tree before it was gone. How the hell had that person manage to shoot her? Her haki should have warned her when those shots were coming. Wren then winced while noticing that the bullets seemed to be sapping away her strength. As if they were draining her. Was it made of sea prism stone?

"Wren, are you going to be okay?" Luffy asked as he placed his hands on her shoulder.

Despite feeling a lot of pain in her side, Wren smiled at Luffy to give him some reassurance.

"I'll be fine, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "Dr. Kureha will patch me up easily."

Or Chopper would do it. Of course, Wren wouldn't ask for treatment until she knew Sanji and Nami were going to be okay. The Wyvern finally made it to the top of the mountain where it landed with ease. Luffy picked up Sanji to carry him off the Wyvern as Wren slid down off his back. She snapped her fingers with the Wyvern disappearing. Wren started feeling lightheaded suddenly. Before she knew it, she was falling forward as her vision became blurry.

"Wren!" She heard Luffy shout in concern as she hit the ground.

She heard Luffy set down Sanji then run towards her. He turned her over to look down at her, and his face was the last she saw before she passed out.

* * *

As Wren started to comeback to consciousness, she felt the pain in her side had lessened greatly. It was now just three spots of dull aching. She frowned while still wondering who the hell managed to shoot her like that. Wren then forced herself to sit up to look around to see she was in the same room she had been in the last time that she was here. Wren lowered her cover to see that her shirt had been removed, so she could have the bullets removed from her side. She was now wrapped up starting from the bottom of her torso to her chest.

She pushed the covers off of her completely as she turned to the side of the bed. She set her bare feet onto the cold stone floor, which had her shivering. She found her boots set to the side, so she grabbed them to put on her bare feet. She got up out of the bed though wobbled for a moment when a small wave of dizziness hit her. It passed quickly though. She let out a sigh then saw that a simple black, long-sleeved shirt was laid out for her. She grabbed it to quickly put on since she was freezing, and when seeing her coat, she grabbed it too. As she was putting on her coat, she heard a lot of racket happening outside her door.

"Is that…Chopper screaming?" Wren asked.

She went over to the door, and when she opened it, Chopper went rushing by with Luffy, who was asking Chopper to be his friend, running after him. However, Luffy zipped back to stand in front of her when he had realized he passed her.

"Oh, Wren, you're up!" Luffy shouted

Luffy grinned brightly at Wren as Chopper hid around the corner. He needed to check on Wren, and get her back to bed. However, he couldn't get near her with Luffy around.

"Are you feeling better?" Luffy asked. "Did that old doctor lady take care of your bullet wounds?"

"Yes, I'm much better, Luffy-sama." Wren said then touched her side. "The wounds ache a bit, but that's it."

Luffy grinned even more since he was so glad his friends were all doing a lot better.

"Now, Luffy-sama, why are you chasing around Chopper?" Wren asked.

"Oh, he's going to join our crew and be our friend!" Luffy said then looked around until he spotted Chopper who stiffened. "There you are! Come back, Reindeer!"

Chopper took off running with Luffy dashing after him. Wren watched him go for a moment while wondering if he knew that making Chopper see you as a friend was hard. He didn't trust humans. Wren shook her head then walked down the hallway towards the main medical room where she was sure she'd find Kureha. Wren reached the door that led to the room she was looking for. She opened the door to see Nami, Sanji, and Kureha inside.

"Well, well, well, look who's up." Kureha said. "Not many people would be up after getting shot three times."

"Not many people are a demon like me." Wren replied as she walked forward. "And I would like to apologize if I interrupted any conversation you might have been having."

"We just finished speaking." Kureha said. "I was just telling them the story about Chopper's past."

"You mean the story about the Quack?" Wren asked.

Kureha nodded her head in reply as Sanji hurried out of his seat to walk over to Wren.

"Wren-chan, should you really being moving?" Sanji asked looking concerned. "You don't want to get any worse, do you?"

"I'll be fine." Wren said. "When you've been a pirate for as long as I have, you get over wounds like this quickly."

Sanji frowned since he was still very worried about Wren. He didn't want any lovely lady to be in pain. However, he just nodded then pulled out a chair for Wren to sit in.

"Thank-you." She said as she sat down. "Nami-san, how are you?"

"I'm doing really well." Nami said smiling. "Dr. Kureha told me that if you hadn't helped me that I probably wouldn't have made it here alive."

"Yes, it's quite remarkable that you slowed down the five day disease." Kureha said. "It seems you know more medical knowledge than you let on the last time you were here."

Wren shrugged her shoulder in a nonchalant manner as she glanced at the table. There was no tea. She'd really like some about now.

"Hey, Cook," Kureha said as she glanced at Sanji. "How about you make some tea? There's some herbs I laid out that will help this girl's pain in her side to go in with some tea leaves."

"I'll get to it right away!" Sanji said as he jumped up. "Anything to make Wren-chwan feel better!~"

He hurried off to go make the tea as Wren looked at Kureha with a quirked brow.

"You seem to know me very well considering I was only here for a week last time." Wren said casually.

"A doctor needs to understand her patients to make them feel better again." Kureha said. "Don't forget that, Girlie."

Wren nodded her head as she resisted the urge to just lean back in her seat. However, her old lessons of how a woman should properly sit kept her from doing so.

"So I hear you've been busy since we last saw." Kureha said. "Not long after you left here, you left Donquixote Doflamingo and his crew. Now you're with another group of pirates. Can't stay away from trouble, can you?"

"It's not like it's possible for me to just leave behind the life of a wanted criminal." Wren said. "Any possibility of a trouble free life was taken away fourteen years ago."

Though Wren kept her tone casual Nami could hear a slight bitterness to it, which had the navigator looking at Wren in sympathy. Nami kind of understood what Wren was going through since she had to work for Arlong and his crew for years to try and protect her village. Wren was trying to do the same, but the difference was that Wren lost her family, friends, and kingdom. Nami couldn't imagine being without her sister or the people of her village. Just the thought makes her feel depressed, so she could imagine how much pain Wren feels on a daily basis.

"You could always go into hiding." Kureha suggested.

"I'm not a coward." Wren said. "And I have business to attend to, and a goal that's been waiting eleven years to be completed to do. If I'm still alive after all that, I'll have one more thing to do before I can finally be at peace."

Nami frowned having a feeling that Wren didn't mean she'd be relaxing after everything was said and done. When Wren said be at peace it sounded like she meant something else. A few more minutes of comfortable silence passed before Sanji returned with fresh tea.

"Here you go, my dear." Sanji said as he set the tea in front of Wren.

He poured her a cup then held it out to her. Wren took it then took an experimental sip.

"It tastes delicious, Sanji-san." Wren said. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome, Wren-chwan~" Sanji said as he spun around. "I'm so glad you liked it. Do you want me to make you anything to eat to go with your tea?~"

"No, thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said. "I'm not very hungry right now."

Sanji nodded his head then took his seat, which he scooted over to the table to sit beside Wren.

"Hmm, seems like you've been busier than I previously thought." Kureha said as she grinned at Wren.

Wren just silently looked at Kureha as the old woman cackled in the peculiar way of hers.

"Anyway, now that I'm feeling more relaxed, I would like to see the bullets you pulled out of me." Wren said as she held out her hands. "I know you kept them."

Kureha reached into her pocket to pull out a small glass bottle. She tossed it to Wren who caught it in her hand. She looked at the three bullets that held up pretty well considering they did impact her body.

"And in case you're curious about your wounds, none of them hit anything vital." Kureha said.

"I see." Wren said while not seeming concerned. "Thank-you for mending my wounds."

Kureha nodded her head as Wren opened up the bottle to drop out one of the bullets into her waiting palm. When it touched her skin she winced a bit when immediately feeling her strength wane a bit.

"Wren, are you alright?" Sanji asked quickly when he saw her wince.

"I'm alright." Wren said as she placed the bullet back into the bottle. "I was just testing a theory. When these bullets hit me, they not only paused me pain…it also felt as if my very strength was being taken from me. Only one type of bullet could cause that…and it's a sea prism bullet."

Kureha lightly frowned while knowing that sea prism bullets weren't easy to come by especially in these waters.

"Sea prism bullet?" Nami asked. "What's that?"

"Sea prism bullets are made of sea prism stones." Wren said. "And sea prism stones give off the same energy as the sea, which means it can be used against devil fruit users. A lot of marine base prison bars are made of it. Sea prism bullets though are rare. You can't even find them on this side of the Grand Line, which means the person who shot me had to have purchased the bullets on an island farther along the Grand Line."

This meant the person knew what he or she was doing. They hit Wren three times with sea prism bullets to weaken her so she'd be less of a threat. Then they made sure to be able to miss any vital organs. That must mean they wanted her alive, which leads her to believe the person was a bounty hunter after her bounty. Or perhaps someone hired by Doflamingo himself.

"If I run into the bastard who shot you, I'll kill him." Sanji growled glared forward. "I'll make sure he suffers beforehand because what he's done is unforgiveable!"

He wasn't just mad at this shooter either. He was angry with himself for not being able to protect Wren. He promised to be her knight in shining armor, but he couldn't prevent her from being shot.

"I don't want him dead." Wren said as she crossed one leg over the other. "I want information out of him, so that I can find out who he is, why he was shooting me exactly, and if he works for anyone."

After that Wren would leave the man speaking to the point of insanity for anyone to find that way if anyone else is on her trail, they'll see what waits for them should they try to continue tracking her.

"Wren, I know knowledge is important." Nami said. "But is it really that important here on the Grand Line?"

"Yes, it is." Wren said as she glanced at Nami. "Information can be more valuable than gold on these waters, and keep you alive. Just basic information like knowing other pirate crews, who the Shichibukai are, where certain marine headquarters rest, etc. can help you know what you're up against."

Nami nodded her head in understanding. That made sense to her. Like know they knew what sea prism stone is, which means they can try to keep it away from their devil fruit users.

"Gathering information is my specialty." Wren said. "So don't worry. I'll keep my feelers out to see if I catch wind of anything the crew may need to know. When I last spoke to one of my informants, she was entering the Grand Line, and heading for Alabasta. I'll get a hold of her, and ask her to check on the situation in Alabasta before we get there, so we can get information on the situation before we land."

"That really makes me feel better." Nami said smiling. "And I'm sure Vivi will appreciate it."

Wren nodded her head then sensed a presence rushing towards the door, which had her looking back at it. The door burst open with Chopper, who was in his Walking Point, was standing there looking upset.

"Docterine, it's bad!" He said. "Wapol's back."

Wren frowned while remembering that annoying king and his henchmen. She was hoping they'd freeze to death after she buried them in snow.

"Is he?" Kureha asked grinning.


	7. Let the Game Begin

It was silent for a moment as Chopper stood at the door with that angered look on his face. However, the silence was broken by Wren as she set down her teacup. She then stood up.

"Where is my sword?" Wren asked as she looked to Kureha. "It wasn't in the room you put me in when I woke."

"I placed it in the back room." She said gesturing to the room behind her. "What do you plan to do with it, Girlie?"

"I plan to use it to get rid of a few eyesores." Wren replied.

Kureha cackled as Wren went into the back room to grab her sword. Sanji got up to follow her into the room as Kureha stood to get her leather jacket on.

"Wren-chan, you shouldn't be fighting in your state." Sanji said as he looked concerned. "Rest here with Nami-chan. I can handle these guys no problem with Luffy."

"You and Luffy-sama had your fun with the Lapahns." Wren said as she found her sword.

She opened her coat, so to place her sword in the holster belt securely. She was tired of the men staying behind to do the work. She could fight just fine on her own.

"You should stay here to look after Nami-san." Wren said as she headed back into the other room, which Chopper and Kureha had left.

They probably went on ahead to intercept Wapol. Wren knew she needed to get out there before the two of them could get hurt. Wren was sure Chopper could handle Chess and Kuromarimo. However, she was sure that Wapol would be too much for him.

"And what if that shooter is around?" Sanji asked.

"Then I'll deal with him too." Wren said simply. "He won't catch me by surprise a second time."

Sanji frowned wondering why Wren had to be so stubborn. Though…he supposed he found her stubbornness a bit cute.

"I'm coming with you." Sanji said then looked to Nami. "You'll be alright by yourself, right, Nami-chan?"

"Yes, I'll be alright." Nami said nodding.

Wren sighed guessing that meant Sanji would be coming along with her. That worried her since she knew his injuries weren't healed yet, and she was certain he had broken several bones in that avalanche.

"Very well." Wren said. "Please, be careful though."

"Of course, Wren-chwan." Sanji said grinning as he grabbed his coat.

He put it on as Wren walked out the door to head for the door that lead outside. Wren jumped over the railing to land down below on her feet. Sanji took the steps since he knew his back probably couldn't handle being jarred from a jump like that. As they were heading for the door, Luffy, who didn't have his coat or hat on, ran passed them to get out the door.

"He doesn't have a coat on again." Wren said.

"Yeah, his small brain will realize that sooner or later." Sanji said as he put a cigarette between his lips.

He lit it up while he and Wren continued walking towards the door. When they made it to the door they saw, Luffy had punched Wapol in the face, which nearly sent Wapol over the side of the cliff. However, his henchmen were able to catch him, which was a pity in Wren's opinion.

"Not these guys again." Sanji said frowning.

He was really getting sick and tired of them showing up. This time around they needed to take care of these guys for good.

"Last time I ran into you I had to help Wren get Sanji to the doctor. But now," Luffy said then made a weird face as he held up his fist, "Oh, you guys, are so going to get it."

He gave a few chuckles, and even Wren had to admit she was a bit disturbed by Luffy's expression. Wapol's henchmen then shouted at Luffy for what he had done, but the young pirate didn't seem interested—none of them were actually. In fact, Wren basically tuned the henchmen out since their voices were grating on her nerves.

"Who cares?! He ticked me off again!" Luffy retorted as he stretched out his cheeks and stuck out his tongue.

Wren wondered just what kind of devil fruit her new captain ate to get the powers he has. She's never heard of a devil fruit that made a person stretch.

"I take it you've run a fowl with Wapol before, Young Man." Kureha said.

"I sure have." Luffy said as he turned to look at Kureha while pointing at Wapol. "He's that annoying big mouth pirate!"

While Wren agrees that Wapol is a big mouth, Luffy forgot to add he's also a greenhorn pirate. Though she supposes that wasn't important.

"What'd he do?" Kureha asked.

"He ate part of our ship, and then he attacked me and my friends!" Luffy said as he stopped his feet on the snow. "This guy's got it coming, and I'm going to give it to him!"

Wren could understand Luffy's frustrations. However, it seemed as if Luffy wasn't noticing something important. Like the fact that he isn't dressed for winter weather.

"Okay, but before you do that aren't you cold in that get up?" Sanji asked.

Luffy just looked at him in confusion since he had no idea what Sanji was talking about.

"You know _cold_?" Sanji asked again.

"Really, Luffy-sama, you have to be freezing." Wren added.

Sanji nodded in agreement as Luffy just blinked at his new crewmates in confusion. However, something then dawned him, which had him gasping.

"Hey, did he say he was the king?!" Luffy asked as he looked back at Wapol in surprise. "But I thought he was a pirate!"

"Took you long enough!" Sanji snapped.

Wren just sweat-dropped while wondering how Luffy had become a captain in the first place. He's a nice boy don't get her wrong…but she wasn't sure if captain of a pirate ship was the best career choice for him. Kuromarimo and Chess then started speaking without even realizing they were being ignore by the three pirates, witch doctor, and human-reindeer.

"Whoa, it's freezing out here." Luffy said as he held his arms.

"You really are an idiot." Sanji said frowning.

"Yeah, it's 50 below zero!" Chopper added.

Luffy just continued to shake, which had Wren sighing. He was going to get frostbite if he didn't find more winter appropriate clothes.

"Luffy-sama," Wren began as Wapol finally jumped to his feet. "Perhaps you should go find a coat."

Wren was getting concerned about her new captain's health. In fact, she was more concerned about him getting warm than the threats coming from Wapol's mouth.

"R-right." Luffy said.

He ran inside, which left Wren, Sanji, Kureha, and Chopper to deal with Wapol and his men.

"I'm going to bite you into pieces!" Wapol shouted angrily.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to hang on just a minute." Sanji said. "He had to get a coat."

"IS THIS A JOKE?!" Wapol demanded.

"Of course not." Wren said. "We are taking your threats quite seriously."

Despite saying that her tone had a condescending ring to it, which had Wapol's blood boiling in anger. Kureha cackled in amusement at how red Wapol's face was becoming as Wren looked at him in a bored manner. Chopper then looked to Sanji since he was curious about something.

"Tell me," Chopper began as he got Sanji's attention. "Your friend can stretch himself…how?"

"Oh that?" Sanji asked. "It's because he's a rubber man."

"What the heck is that?" Chopper asked.

"It's a monster." Sanji said with a big grin on his face.

Chopper's eyes widened as Wren's lips turned up into a tiny smile. Monster was putting it lightly in her book. Anyone who ate a devil fruit were like devils themselves. That included her of course. In fact, she'd say she's the most demonic of them all.

"Well, well, looks like we're up against that old hag, a reindeer, and a few of the Straw Hat pirates." Wapol said as he grinned confidently. "Not that much of a challenge. This will be over quickly, and once we've eliminated them, they're won't be anyone else foolhardy enough to defy me."

"Of course, my king." Chess agreed. "Today will be remembered as the day you restored Drum Kingdom to its former glory."

Wren held back a snort as she placed her hands on her hips. Glory was stretching it quite a bit too far. From what Kureha has told Wren, there hasn't been anything glorious about Drum Kingdom ever since Wapol took over after his father's death.

"First I'll start with you, Dr. Kureha!" Wapol said. "You've commented a major offense by moving into my castle, and an even greater one by flying that strange flag."

Wren glanced back and up at the flag flying behind them. The flag of that Quack Hiriluk that Kureha told Wren about. The Quack, who swore to fight just like a pirate, so to save this country. That flag there was a symbol of his faith and his pledge to risk his life for what he wanted most.

"It's not yours!" Kureha said. "Not anymore. It's Hiriluk's grave. I wasn't interested in this rundown place with all the bad things you did here. But we can use it to do some good, and the reindeer insisted on flying the doctor's flag."

And Chopper would continue to insist on it since he wanted to carry on Hiriluk's will by flying his flag. Wapol then started laughing, which had Wren narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh, I had almost forgotten that fool! HAHAHA!" Wapol laughed then frowned. "How dare you desecrate my castle by flying the flag of that stupid doctor?! I command that it be burned immediately!"

Wren glared at Wapol while placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. This man was really asking for it. However, before she could just end him on the spot, Chopper started to grow into his Heavy Point, which had her pausing.

"I'll never let you touch that flag." Chopper said. "Or get inside this castle. Never."

He would protect Hiriluk's grave and his pirate flag even if he dies in the end.

"Look, sir." Chess said. "He's that—!"

"You're right." Kuromarimo said. "It is him. It's that doctor's monster. The one that Dalton stopped."

"That flag there…it's a symbol of his faith." Chopper said. "I won't let you take it down! Not now! Not ever!"

Wapol let out a loud obnoxious laugh while not seeming worried at all by Chopper's vow.

"We're going to take it and you all of you down!" Wapol said. "And we're going into the castle. Show them no mercy, boys!"

His two henchmen started walking forward, so Wren stepped forward as well. She was sure she could deal with all three of these men on her own.

"Old lady, are you going to fight too?" Sanji asked.

"Old lady?" Kureha asked.

Wren winced even before Kureha hit Sanji over the head since she knew it was coming. She's just surprised Sanji has yet to understand to not call Kureha old.

"If they're more than you can handle, Junior, I'll step in." Kureha said.

"Appreciate that." Sanji said as he held his head.

"Don't worry, sir." Kuromarimo said. "We'll get them out of your hair. Speaking of hair!"

He threw two large hairballs towards Kureha, which had Chopper calling out her name in worry. However, it didn't appear he had too since Wren cut down one hairball while Sanji blocked the next one with his leg.

"Hey, big man with the afro, didn't your mother ever tell you it's not polite to strike a lady?" Sanji asked. "Especially a young, hot one?"

"Now that's more like it, Blondie." Kureha said.

She then looked to Wren as the wine-haired girl was poking at her side with a frown on her face.

"Feeling any pain, Girlie?" Kureha said.

"No," Wren said. "However, these bandages make it difficult to move without discomfort. May I remove them?"

"No." Kureha denied immediately. "The bandages stay on."

Wren frowned even more since she didn't like to feel constricted when she's fighting. She then glanced at the hairball on Sanji's leg that wasn't coming off.

"Sanji-san, that hairball doesn't seem to want to come off." Wren said as she gestured to the hairball on his leg.

"Huh?" Sanji murmured.

He then looked at the hairball to see that it really didn't wish to come off his leg. He started shaking his leg up and down, but it still wouldn't come off.

"Damn, why won't this stupid thing come off?!" Sanji demanded. "What's making it stick to me?! Static electricity?!"

Wren supposed that was the best bet, and it had to be pretty strong static electricity since the hairball wasn't budging an inch.

"Exactomundo!" Kuromarimo said.

"Dammit! Get off my leg, ya disgusting hairball!" Sanji demanded.

Wren sighed then walked over towards Sanji. She plucked the hairball off of him to hold in her hands.

"That better?" She asked.

Sanji nodded his head while glad that nasty piece of hair was off of him. It was disgusting. Wren sensed something heading towards her, so she moved swiftly. First she jerked her head back to avoid a hairball to the face. Secondly she jumped up into the air to dodge the hairball heading for her feet. She flipped into the air to avoid a third one then landed on her feet. Sanji's eyes widened at how quickly she moved as Kureha cackled.

"Not bad, Girl." Kuromarimo said. "However, you still have one on you!"

Wren looked at the one she had in her hands wondering how she was going to get this off of her. Well, she first needed it off her hands, so she could use her sword. With that in mind she placed the hairball on her right sleeve out of the way for a moment.

"Hah there's a reason I don't condition my hair." Marimo said.

Wren frowned feeling even more disgusted by this hairball than she had felt earlier.

"And a very good one at that too." Chess said as he raised a bow and arrow. "Their dryness makes them burst into flames much easier."

The tip of his arrow caught on fire as he aimed it right at the hairball on Wren's arm. She blinked not looking all that worried. However, Sanji's eyes widened when realizing what Chess was going to do.

"Oh, no, he's going to burn that thing!" Sanji said. "Wren-chwan, give me the hairball!"

He rushed towards her to take it from her, but it was too late. Chess fired the arrow, and it hit the hairball dead on. It burst into flames, but it wasn't burning Wren.

"What the—?!" Chess exclaimed as Wren's coat fell to the ground with the burning hairball still on it.

The girl, who had been wearing it and left it behind, however, was closing in on Wapol and his men. She had her blade drawn with murderous intent shining in her visible eye. Wapol let out a yell of fear while feeling as if he was already being placed in his grave.

"Chess, Kuromarimo, protect me!" He ordered.

Chess and Kuromarimo didn't move, however, since they were frozen in place due to fear. Just as Wren was about to cut down Wapol she sensed the shot coming before the sound of gun being fired rung out. Wren jumped backwards, and in just enough time since a bullet hit where she had been standing.

"What the—?!" Sanji exclaimed. "A shooter?"

Wren landed on her feet then looked towards the small forest area beside the castle. The shooter from earlier was back. Just as she thought that three more shots rang out one after another. Wren dodged every single one of them while being pushed back towards the castle.

"I don't know who is shooting, but he or she is getting in my way." Wren said as she glared directly at the tree the shooter was hiding beside. "I do not like to be interrupted in battle. So take your leave!"

Wren slashed her sword towards the grouping of trees with shrill screaming entering the air, and the force of the attack sliced right through a lot of those trees as well as kicked up snow. As the sliced in half trees fell to the ground, Wapol and his men stared with wide eyes.

"She's a demon!" Chess shouted. "A devil!"

Wren didn't pay no mind to Chess as she watched a figure jump out of the path of her sword's attack. The figure then landed in front of the small forest, which brought him out in the open. As the figure stood, it was revealed that he was indeed a man. He had dark dirty blonde hair in dreadlocks that were pulled back into a ponytail. He had a matching dirty blonde goatee, and a scar across the left corner of his mouth. His skin was deeply tanned, and he looked to be the same height as Sanji with the same build.

He wore a simply black turtleneck under a white winter coat. He had a blue scarf wrapped around his neck that partially hid the bottom of his chin. A pair of dark goggles covered his eyes to keep the snow out of them. He then had on a pair of baggy dark gray pants that were tucked into black combat boots. He had a rifle bag on his back, and a rifle in his hands. However, it didn't have a scope, which Wren found as peculiar. Didn't snipers need a scope, so to make sure they hit their targets? Of course, he hit her pretty good earlier without one, and she had been pretty far from him.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Wapol asked.

"I do not know, sir." Chess said. "Though he doesn't seem to be a friend of the Straw Hats since he keeps shooting at that girl."

"Oh?" Wapol asked then laughed. "Then he must be a citizen who has remained loyal to his king!"

The man said nothing as Wapol continued to laugh with a large grin on his face. Sanji glared at the man with his anger boiling. So he was the man…who shot Wren?

"You there!" Wapol said. "If you finish off the Straw Hats, I—your king—shall reward you! I will—!"

Wapol was cut off as another shot rang through the air. However, this one wasn't directed at Wren. This shot was directed at Wapol, and it nicked his cheek, which drew blood. Everything went silent for a moment as the man frowned at Wapol.

"Shut-up." The man said. "I don't know what the hell you're blubbering about, but you're no king of mine. As if I would follow such an annoying fat ass to begin with. Now stay out of my way. I'm here for her."

He tilted his head at Wren as she regarded him calmly. Was he some kind of bounty hunter or something?

"What…what the hell did you say to me?!" Wapol demanded. "How dare you shoot at me?! I'm a king!"

"Like I said, I don't dare." The man said. "Now shut-up. You're giving me a headache, Hippo Man. I just want to take Saturn Wren with me, so I can collect the bounty on her head, which is doubled if she's brought in alive. Not to mention the bonus promised to me by Doflamingo."

So he is a bounty hunter, and it seems that Doflamingo hired him personally. Wren supposed he had to be good at his job if Doflamingo hired him. Or Doflamingo was desperate to get his hands on Wren after learning she stole the devil fruits that Boris was supposed to have brought him.

"Sorry, but you won't be collecting my bounty anytime soon." Wren said then glanced at Chopper and Sanji. "I'll leave Wapol and his men to the two of you. This sniper is mine."

"Wren-chan, let me handle this bastard!" Sanji said as he gestured towards the man. "I'll give him a first rate lesson on how not to treat a lady! I'll kick his damn ass!"

Sanji stepped forward to get ready to attack, but Wren grabbed the back of his coat to stop him.

"Sanji-san, please do not interfere." Wren said. "I can handle him."

Sanji grit his teeth together harshly while wanting to continue with his plan to kick this guy's ass. However, he could never ignore the request from a lady. Especially a beautiful one like Wren.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Sanji asked.

"Yes." Wren said nodding. "This man is a sniper, which means combat isn't his specialty. I'll be able to handle him without a problem."

The man narrowed his eyes at Wren behind his goggles, but didn't correct Wren's statement. In fact, he quickly retreated back into the protection of the trees. Wren smirked as she sheathed her sword.

"You want to play hide-and-seek do you?" Wren asked. "Alright, then let the game begin."

* * *

Wren looked around the forest area around the castle as she was searching for the sniper that fled into the trees.

"He hasn't even given a proper introduction yet." Wren said to herself as she sighed. "It's very rude of him if you ask me."

To her it's only proper manners to introduce oneself properly even if they are your enemy. However, not everyone believed in the same mannerisms as she did. Wren was about to take another step when another gunshot rang out. She calmly pulled her head back to avoid the shot that would have pierced her temple.

"I thought you wanted to take me back alive." Wren said casually as she turned her visible eye onto the sniper who had been trying to shoot her from his camouflaged position in the snow. "Shooting me in the head wouldn't help you achieve that goal."

The sniper growled in aggravation then threw away the white blanket that had kept him camouflaged against the snow.

"Though I suppose you know that your chances of catching me off guard are zip to none." Wren said as she turned to completely face the sniper. "I am impressed that you managed to catch me off guard in the first place. No one has managed to do that in a long time. I suppose I became sloppy in keeping my guard up while worried over the conditions of these rookie pirates I've joined."

Wren would have to be careful not to do that ever again because she never knew if anyone stronger might come along to fight her.

"Now, what is your name, Bounty Hunter?" Wren asked with her head tilted to the side.

The Bounty Hunter narrowed his eyes at her as he placed his sniper rifle against his shoulder.

"…it's Garrett…Floyd P. Garrett." He said finally. "Also known as One-Shot Garrett because I never miss my mark. At least until now. You've dodged my bullets the last few times now."

"Sorry to break your record." Wren said smirking. "But isn't it impressive enough that you can be a sniper without a scope?"

"Actually I have a scope." Garrett said.

He then lifted his goggles to show his eyes. Wren's brow quirked curiously when seeing that his pupils were shaped like the crosshairs of a scope. Oh, he was a devil fruit user.

"I ate the Kibo-Kibo no Mi*." Garrett said. "It allows me to use my eyes like a scope, and I can zoom in on a target hundreds of yards away with these eyes. They're the reason I've never missed my targets until now."

Wren guessed that meant Garrett never had a target who could sense the attacks coming without having to see them. That was two advantages she had against him. She was a close combat specialist and she could sense his attacks coming before he even pulls the trigger, so even if he did manage to put distance between them, it wouldn't help him.

"It's obvious that you can't beat me, Garrett-san." Wren said. "Just give up now, and I'll forgive you for putting three sea prism bullets in my side. How does that sound? Though I would like to ask a favor of you."

His reply to her offer was to pull out a smaller gun to point at her chest. She sighed guessing things would have to get bloody before he decided to just go along with her wishes.

"If it's a fight you want then very well." Wren said as she unsheathed her sword. "I'm quite certain the victory will be mine."

"You shouldn't be so cocky!" Garrett snapped. "As long as I keep you from getting close, the fight moves in my favor."

He then shot off a few rapid rounds at Wren, which she dodged with ease. She didn't even blink as he fired a few more shots. She even ran forward to rush Garrett, which put her in the line of fire.

"Don't think you can keep dodging!" Garrett said. "Not when you're running right towards the gun."

Wren didn't say anything as she closed in. Garrett fired right at her head when she was just two feet in front of him. She ducked down in a split second then whirled around Garrett while slashing at his torso. He cried out in plain as a deep gash was cut into his side. He then flipped away from Wren while dropping his pistol to the ground, so he could brace his hand against the ground as he landed in a crouch. His blood dripped down to stain the pure white snow as Wren swiped her sword to the side to get some of his blood off of it.

"We're in two different leagues, Garrett-san." Wren said. "Now I hate to come off as arrogant, but it is true. For nearly the last fourteen years I've been training to take down one man who is more powerful than you can imagine. My hate towards him fueled me to train and work hard to make me strong. It's a will that is much stronger than yours, which is why you cannot win this battle."

Garrett just narrowed his eyes at Wren then lifted his gun to shoot at her again. Wren deflected the bullet by using her sword with a sigh leaving her lips. It appeared as if he wasn't listening to her. It seemed she'd have to teach him a bit of a lesson. Before Garrett could even blink his rifle was sliced in half, and he had a new gash on his chest. He gasped his eyes wide as he looked up at Wren who seemed almost demonic as she glared down at him with that crimson red eye of hers. He felt his body to start shaking in fear, and even if his mind was telling him to run, he couldn't get his body to comply. He was literally paralyzed in fear.

"Are you done?" Wren asked with a tilt of her head. "You're just wasting both of our times."

Garrett was silent for a moment, and Wren took his silence as his compliance. She sheathed her sword then placed her hands on her hips.

"Good." Wren said then grinned in a mischievous manner. "Now listen closely, I know Doflamingo is most likely on a nearby island waiting for you to bring me to him since he wouldn't just want to wait in Dressrosa for word on what happened during our fight. You are going to deliver him something for me."

Garrett looked confused while wondering what she wanted him to deliver. He was sure it was nothing good based on the smirk on her face. He wasn't sure what he'd rather do…deliver her little message to Doflamingo then be killed for failing the Shichibukai, or deny Wren's request and she most likely show him why some people fear to even speak her name. He bowed his head knowing his decision.

* * *

1) Kibo-Kibo no Mi- Scope Scope Fruit (I think the name pretty much explains its powers)


	8. Sakura Petals Fall In Drum

After Wren sent Garrett on his way with clear instructions and the message she wanted to give Doflamingo, she headed back towards the castle. She heard the excitement die down a little while go, so she assumed everything was finished. Wren walked out of the tree line though paused when seeing that three people were missing from the scene. Luffy, Sanji, and Wapol all seemed to have disappeared. That and that Chess guy and his pal Kuromarimo were the same person now, which had Wren frowning since that was just weird, were laying on the ground K. .

"Where is the hippo man, Luffy-sama, and Sanji-san?" Wren asked.

"Wapol went into the castle while we were all distracted by Chopper's little fight." Kureha said. "Your friends went after him, but Blondie rebroke his spine. If he keeps this up, he'll lose his ability to walk."

Wren sighed wondering if her new crewmates would ever not do something that makes her worry about their wellbeing.

"I'll go stop him before he does anything foolish." Wren said as she was walking towards the castle.

However, she paused to pat Chopper on top his head—or rather hat—which had him looking up at her. She smiled down at him, which had his eyes widening.

"Good job, Chopper-chan." Wren said. "I see you fought hard to defeat your foe. You fought just like a pirate."

Chopper blushed at her words then before he could react she was heading towards the castle.

"And what happened to that other punk?" Kureha asked as Wren was passing her. "He dead?"

Wren chuckled with a small smirk pulling across her face as she thought about Garrett.

"No, he isn't dead." Wren said. "He's running a little errand for me. Whether he's alive after that or not isn't my concern."

Kureha looked at Wren curiously as she wondered what Wren meant by that, but the younger woman didn't elaborate. Wren just continued into the castle while vaguely hearing Luffy's voice shouting from inside. Wren walked into the entrance room to see Luffy disappearing up at the top of the stairs as Nami was shoving Sanji's face into the snow as he laid there twitching on the ground.

"And what is going on here?" Wren asked as she walked over towards her crewmates.

Nami's head shot up as she gasped in surprise since she hadn't been expecting Wren. Sanji raised his head to smile happily when seeing Wren was back and in one piece.

"Wren-chwan!" He cheered while crawling over to her. "I'm so happy you're alright!"

"And I can see you are not." Wren said as she crouched down in front of Sanji. "You should take better care of yourself, Sanji-san. If you keep being reckless like this, I'm going to worry about you constantly."

Sanji felt his heart swell when hearing that Wren cared about him enough to worry about his wellbeing.

"Will you please remain still and rest?" Wren asked. "Do I need to get you something to make you more comfortable?"

"I can think of two things that could make me feel better." Sanji said as he stared at her endowed chest. "Please, allow me to rest my head on your bosom~"

Nami sighed while shaking her head at Sanji. He just doesn't give up, does he? Nami expected Wren to shove Sanji's head in the snow as she had done. However, she was shocked when Wren, who sat down on the snow, simply moved Sanji's head to her lap gently.

"Nice try." Wren said to Sanji. "However, that isn't happening. Though I will allow you to rest your head here."

"Okay~" Sanji said while still happy with where his head was laying.

As Sanji snuggled into Wren's lap, Wren stroked his blonde head gently, which felt so nice in Sanji's opinion. He could feel Wren's warmth, and feel her delicate digits combing through his hair, and he could smell her sweet womanly scent. He was in heaven being this close to such a beautiful woman, and he never wanted to move from here.

"You're more tolerant than I am, Wren." Nami said as she sat down. "I would have shoved his face in the snow again if he asked me the same question."

"Well, I suppose I can cut him some slack since he's injured." Wren said with a small chuckle. "Besides, at least he asked. I've had men fondle me without permission before."

Nami frowned wondering what kind of pigs those men were, and she really hoped Wren had punched them afterwards.

"What sick bastards." Sanji growled. "I'll kick their asses if I run into them."

"You won't." Wren said confidently. "Now, shush and rest. You'll need all your strength if we plan to escape from here to continue our journey without Dr. Kureha killing us first."

Wren knew for a fact that Sanji wouldn't see those men since Gladius or Doflamingo himself had killed them for laying a hand on her.

"Whatever you say, my darling~" Sanji said back to being a love struck puppy.

Nami looked at Wren curiously as the slightly older woman looked back at her in return. How did Wren know Nami wanted to leave?

"That is why you left the room, is it not?" Wren said. "You wish to get back to the others, so that we can leave, yes?"

"Uh, yeah." Nami said as she nodded. "But what about Luffy? He's up there fighting that tin weirdo."

"I'm quite certain that Luffy-sama can handle the hippo man." Wren said. "Once he's done we just have to find a way to leave before Dr. Kureha catches on."

Nami nodded her head in understanding. She believed in Luffy too, so right now the three of them just had to worry about getting away from here, so to head towards Alabasta for Vivi. Wren then got a slightly depressed look as she frowned a bit.

"Of course, I'll have to leave behind the gold and beries I promised her." Wren said. "I worked hard on stealing that money, and now that greedy hag—Pardon me, I mean, Dr. Kureha—is going to have all of it."

Nami sweat-dropped when seeing this new side of Wren that was actually a tad comical. Though Nami could understand her pain. Nami wouldn't want to part with a single gold coin of hers.

"We could always leave without paying her." Nami said. "We are pirates after all."

"I know." Wren said as she sighed. "However, I gave Dr. Kureha my word that if she healed you, Luffy-sama, and Sanji-san that she could have all my treasure…and she's done as I wished. It would be a stain on my honor if I were to leave without paying."

"You promised all your treasure…for us?" Nami asked while tearing up. "You must care for us a lot to do such a painful thing! You're a saint!"

Nami sure as hell wouldn't have promised all her treasure to save her crewmates. And she knew it had to be painful for Wren to know all her treasure was going to be gone in the matter of however long it took for them to depart, which definitely wouldn't be enough time for Wren to give the treasure a proper goodbye.

"I wouldn't go that far." Wren said as she sighed once more. "I'm far from a saint. Now, let's focus on getting out of here before Dr. Kureha shows up."

* * *

"Things have quietened down now that the loudmouth is gone." Wren, who had moved to a more enclosed location with her two companions, said. "Though it appears there are more people on top of this mountain."

She didn't sense any hostility though, so she assumed they weren't reinforcements for Wapol and his two cronies.

"Wren, how do you know that?" Nami asked in confusion.

"I hear them." Wren said simply.

This only made Nami more confused, but they didn't really have time for a full explanation, so Nami dropped the subject.

"So you believe we can use the ropeway to get down from here?" Nami asked.

"Yes," Wren said. "We would have used it to get up here in the first place, but we were pressed for time. And flying was much faster. Now to get to the rope way we are going to have to get past Dr. Kureha and Chopper-chan."

Wren didn't want to bump into either one since she'd rather not have to end their visit here in a fight. Besides, it wasn't like she could bring herself to hurt Chopper…and Dr. Kureha, _of course_.

"Nami-chan, you really should stay, and have your illness completely treated." Sanji said as he finally spoke up.

"Keep quiet." Nami said in a hushed voice. "If I don't escape from here now, we won't be able to set sail for two more days. You know how worried Vivi is. We need to hurry and get her to Alabasta."

Wren was about to add a comment, but paused when she felt a presence behind the wall they were hiding next to.

"Oh dear." She said with a tired look on her face. "We're too late."

Sanji and Nami looked at her in confusion since they had no idea what she was walking about.

"Quit all this grumbling, and get back to the medical ward." Kureha said from the other side of the wall. "Move it! Right now!"

She then kicked the wall open, which had Wren ducking her head that had been in the line of Kureha's kick as Nami and Sanji screamed.

"Well, we lost our window." Wren said calmly as she shrugged.

* * *

Wren looked up at the night sky as she walked along the edge of one of the castle's ledges. After all the excitement died down, and Kureha "agreed" to let them go without charging them, which Wren is grateful for, she started looking for Chopper. She needed to speak with the little guy before it was time for departure. She knew Luffy had his heart set on Chopper joining, and she knew that deep down that Chopper wanted to be a pirate. He just needed a little nudge. Wren turned around the corner to see Chopper sitting on the edge.

"I thought I sensed you up here." Wren said.

Chopper jumped in shock while nearly toppling over, but Wren managed to catch him before he could fall towards the ground.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to startle you." Wren said as she knelt down to carefully place Chopper down on the ledge again.

She then sat down beside him while crossing one leg over the other. Chopper looked towards her as Wren looked up at the sky.

"We'll be leaving soon, Chopper-chan." Wren said. "And I know you wish to come with us."

Chopper looked down knowing that was true, but he already decided that he couldn't leave this island. He couldn't sail on a pirate ship with humans…reindeers weren't meant to travel the seas like humans. He was just some freak…he didn't belong with them.

"I can't." Chopper said. "Monsters like me don't belong on pirate ships."

Wren looked glanced at Chopper softly from the corner of her eye as his tiny body shook a bit as he tried to contain his tears.

"Just because you're half-human and half-reindeer doesn't mean you're a monster." Wren said.

"Well, I'm still not human." Chopper insisted.

"Says who?" Wren asked. "And even if you aren't, who cares?"

Chopper looked at Wren with wide eyes as she went back to look up at the moon.

"Being born human doesn't make you a human." Wren said. "I know plenty of people who were born human, but are really monsters inside. And I've known other species that act more human than others. Chopper-chan, you have what's most important to be human even if you weren't born one. Besides, on a pirate crew, you don't have to be the same as your peers because all pirates are some kind of outcast just like you. In fact, you'll find out you'll feel more at home on a pirate crew with other outcasts than hiding out on mountain top for the rest of your life."

Chopper looked at Wren while wondering if what all she said was true. Would it be alright for him to be on a pirate crew…with people? Would he really feel as if he belongs even if he is a reindeer?

"But I'm not going to push you to join." Wren added. "I just want you to understand that you don't have to fear being with humans, and you don't have to feel as if you're a monster undeserving of having friends. Dr. Hiriluk became your friend, didn't he? And so did Dr. Kureha. Then Luffy-sama thinks of you as a part of the crew already that's why he's still calling for you even now."

Wren glanced down to where Luffy was indeed still screaming, and Chopper looked over at Luffy as well. Chopper then looked back to Wren with a question in his mind.

"And…you too…right, Wren?" Chopper asked.

Wren blinked down at him wondering what Chopper was trying to ask her exactly.

"You…you're my friend too…right?" Chopper asked shyly.

Wren lightly chuckled with a small smile appearing on her face. She reached out to pat the top of Chopper's hat as her smile turned warm and soft.

"Of course, Chopper-chan." Wren said. "I'm your friend as well."

Chopper's eyes widened as they started to water a bit with tears. Chopper then wiped at his eyes as he remembered the day that he and Wren had their first conversation.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Chopper hid behind Kureha partially as he looked at Wren with curious yet cautious eyes. Wren was sitting up in bed while leaning back against the head of the bed. Wren was looking back at Chopper with a curious gaze as well._

 _"So you are a human-reindeer?" Wren asked._

 _Chopper nodded his head as he continued to hold onto Kureha's leg from his backwards hiding position._

 _"I see." Wren said as she looked away from him. "Interesting."_

 _Chopper's eyes widened when seeing that Wren apparently lost all interest in him despite her saying "interesting" just a second ago._

 _"You…you aren't freaked out?" Chopper asked._

 _"Why could I be?" Wren said. "No offense, Chopper-chan, but you are not the most odd creature I've come across. Besides, the only reason to freak out is if there is something wrong, and there is nothing wrong with you."_

 _Chopper's eyes widened even more as Kureha laughed that her peculiar cackle of hers._

 _"Do you really meant that?" Chopper asked._

 _Wren looked back towards Chopper with a quirked brow as if he asked a foolish question._

 _"I have no reason to lie, do it?" Wren questioned. "As I said, there is nothing wrong with you. Therefore, there is no reason for me to freak out. Now…may I have some tea?"_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

A few tears slipped from Chopper's eyes as he continued to look up into Wren's smiling face. He had friends…he really did have friends.

"I…I can really go out to sea?" Chopper asked.

"If that is really what you wish." Wren said nodding. "And if you do decide to join us, you need to inform the captain soon because we should be leaving in a few minutes."

Wren pat him on top the head once more then pushed herself off the ledge to head towards the ground. Chopper gasped watching her drop with wide eyes. Wren landed on the wall going around the castle then jumped down from it to land on the snow covered mountaintop, which had Chopper sighing in relief when seeing she landed safely.

"Wren, there you are." Luffy said grinning at Wren. "Have you seen the reindeer?"

"No, Luffy-sama." Wren said as she shook her head. "I have not."

Chopper looked down at her while knowing she was giving him the chance to continue hiding if he wished. He was grateful for that, but knew he needed to make his decision…and face Luffy.

"Dang it." Luffy said pouting. "I want the reindeer to join us!"

Wren lightly chuckled while already guessing that much due to all the yelling he has been doing to try and get Chopper to answer him.

"Come on, Luffy, why don't you just give it up?" Usopp asked. "We've been tracking him forever, and he's still hasn't shown up."

"He's not interested in becoming a pirate." Zoro said. "You're just going to have to accept that."

"No, that's not true!" Luffy insisted as he pointed towards Zoro. "I want the reindeer to be a pirate with us!"

"Just because you want something doesn't mean it's going to happen!" Zoro snapped.

Wren let out a soft laugh as Luffy just stuck his tongue out stubbornly at Zoro, which had the swordsman growling in aggravation. This little crew she joined sure was a funny one. Luffy then returned to calling for Chopper as Wren sensed Chopper moved from the ledge. She glanced back and up to see he was indeed off the ledge. Was he sneaking away? Or coming to give a direct answer in person? When Chopper appeared a few feet away from them, she got her answer.

"Reindeer guy!" Luffy exclaimed happily when seeing Chopper.

Wren noticed Chopper still looked uncertain then glanced over at the opened gate doors to see Vivi and Nami dragging out Sanji who was still unconscious. Not that Wren judged him for that.

"Hey, you're going to come on our ship, and be a pirate with us!" Luffy said as he continued to grin. "Okay?"

"I…I want to." Chopper said honestly. "But…I don't think I can."

Wren could sense that Chopper was still feeling doubt in his heart, which had her looking at him softly.

"Sure you can, Reindeer!" Luffy insisted. "It's a whole lot of fun!"

"That's not a very good argument!" Usopp, who was building a snowman, pointed out.

Chopper looked down at the ground as his little body shook while tears threatened to collect around his eyes.

"But…I'm not a human. I'm a reindeer. I've got antlers and hooves." Chopper said. "Don't you see? I even have a blue nose!"

Chopper then glanced at Wren as he remembered what she had said to him before he came down here. Could someone as different as him really…really go out to sea to be a pirate?

"I do wish to be a pirate." Chopper said. "I really do, but—

"Shut-up!" Luffy interrupted as he threw his arms up into the air. "Let's go!"

Chopper's eyes widened once more, and the tears started to roll down his cheeks as the others—besides, Zoro and Sanji—smiled.

"Most people don't make friends by telling people to shut up." Zoro grumbled.

Wren, who was standing near him, chuckled as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Yes, that's true." Wren agreed. "However, I believe our captain isn't like most."

Zoro snorted with a roll of his eyes because that was the understatement of the year. Chopper then finally let loose his tears completely as he cried up into the sky. Wren looked at him softly as she walked over to him. She knelt down on the ground while placing her hand on his shoulder. He sniffled while turning his head towards her. She gave him a gentle smile as she squeezed his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"See? I told you." She said as her smile widened an inch. "Now, shall we get ready to set sail together, Chopper-chan?"

* * *

As the group waited for Chopper to say his final goodbyes, Wren stood with Nami and Vivi off to the side.

"You're going to head back to the ship now?" Nami asked. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes." Wren said as she nodded. "I'll try to get the ship ready as you all are finishing up here that way we are off of this island as soon as possible. We need to arrive at Alabasta soon, do we not?"

Vivi looked at Wren while having a feeling that Wren wanted to get off this island more for personal reasons than to help them save time in reaching Alabasta.

"Well, yeah." Nami said. "But that's a lot to work to do on your own."

"I'll be fine." Wren said then waved her hand beside her. "I just wish to get off this island as soon as possible."

The snowy wyvern from earlier appeared, and Usopp nearly fainted at the sight as Luffy looked at it in awe. He ran over to poke at it, which had it hiss a bit irritably. However, it didn't try to take a snap at the Straw Hat boy.

"Well, alright." Nami said. "We'll meet you back at the ship as soon as possible."

Wren nodded her head then climbed onto the back of the snowy wyvern. It pushed up into the air while giving a powerful flap of its wings to make it soar higher. It started flying in the direction where they docked the ship as the others watched her go.

"She must really hate Winter Islands." Usopp commented.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked.

"It's something she said earlier when we were heading for Big Horn." Usopp said. "She had been in really deep thought until Luffy snapped her out of it. When he asked her about her thoughts, she said she really hated Winter Islands."

Zoro's brow quirked wondering what was so wrong with Winter Islands. Well, he didn't quite have any good memories to take with him from this place.

"Dr. Kureha mentioned something about it earlier." Nami said. "And I've been wondering why Wren doesn't like islands like this myself."

-FLASHBACK-

 _"You know, I am a bit surprised you got that girl to agree to come here." Kureha said to Sanji and Nami as the two of them sat in the medical ward with the old woman._

 _Sanji and Nami looked at Kureha in confusion as she took a deep swig from her wine bottle._

 _"She swore she'd never set foot here again." Kureha said as she moved the bottle away from her lips._

 _"Are you…talking about Wren?" Nami asked curiously._

 _Kureha nodded her head as she pushed her sunglasses up off of her eyes to rest on her forehead._

 _"The first time that girl was here she told me to make her well as soon as possible because she'd like to leave this island as quickly as possible." Kureha said. "She was miserable the entire week she was here. Always looking out the window with a haunted look in her eyes as if something was really troubling her."_

 _Sanji frowned wondering if what Kureha was describing had to do with Wren not liking Winter Islands. At least that's what Wren had said earlier today._

 _"Why?" Nami asked._

 _"I'm not entirely sure myself." Kureha said honestly. "When I asked her, she only said this,"_

 _ **"Winter Islands like this one bring back…not overly fond memories. Really snow in general is something I like to avoid, and luckily on other islands the snow is only there for a short amount of time. However, on Winter Islands…there's always snow. "**_

 _Sanji and Nami exchanged a glance wondering what kind of memories Wren might be referring to. They knew the overview of her past, but not exact dates or locations or the names of everyone from back then. So they didn't know what memories could haunt her while looking at the snow._

 _"My best bet is that these memories are more than not overly fond." Kureha said. "I'm sure she suffered something tragic on an island covered in snow, and when stuck in the same climate as the one where the horrible event happened, brings back that tragic memory to the surface. Honestly, the look in her eyes tells me that she was mourning a loss. So my guess is that sometime in her past that on an island like this, she lost someone…someone very important to her, or else the sight of snow wouldn't bring out such strong hatred for Winter Islands."_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Nami continued watching Wren go as the wyvern was illuminated by the bright full moon. Was Kureha's theory correct? On top of the wyvern, Wren looked past the snow out at the ocean. Soon they'd be sailing away from this place to Alabasta and by that time…

"He should receive the package I sent for him." Wren said. "And how will you react to it exactly, Doflamingo?"

She let out a soft sigh as the ship came into view. She was sure she'd have his answer soon enough, and then this game of chess really would begin. But how many people would fall before the time for checkmate comes? Wren put her hand over her face with her red eye peeking out from between the gaps in her fingers. She knew what she was doing was risky, and not just for herself. It seemed the Corazon of her dream was right. She was more like Doflamingo than she'd like to admit. However—an image of Corazon's bloody body that was being covered in snow entered her mind, which made her blood boil—there was no turning back now. She would make Doflamingo pay, and at the end…she'd join the others who fell during this deathly chess match. Wren frowned as she glared forward.

"And this is why I hate Winter Islands." Wren said. "My mind turns to such dark thoughts because this snowy landscape brings _that day_ …to the front of my mind."

The wyvern made a worried whining sound, so Wren pat his scaly back in a consoling manner. She didn't want to cause worry to anyone. Not even the monsters she summons to her aid because they're her nakama just as much as her informants.

"It'll be alright." Wren said to it reassuringly. "Let's just land."

The wyvern let out a small growl of confirmation then landed down on the shore where the Going Merry was docked. Wren jumped off of its back then snapped her fingers to send it away. She walked towards the ship though paused when spotting something laying on the shore while half covered in water and half out of the water. Her eyes widened partially when realizing just who was laying halfway in the freezing water.

"Ducky-chan!" Wren exclaimed. "What happened?"

She hurried towards the Ultra Spotbill Duck as Karoo gave a weak quack. She knelt down beside the poor half-frozen duck as she wondered how he ended up in the water.

"I'm not sure what happened, but we must get you out of this freezing water and warmed up." Wren said.

With a single thought she had four smaller versions of those monster-ape creatures from the trade island appear. They all hooted at her in greeting as they jumped up and down.

"Yes, it is good to see you as well." Wren said as she pat one on the head. "I need all your help. Will you please take my friend on deck? Then please prepare the ship to set sail?"

They all hooted and nodded their heads then hurried to do as their mistress asked of them. They quickly but carefully picked up Karoo before taking him onto the ship. Wren was about to follow. However, she stopped when hearing the sounds of cannons. She looked back towards the tallest mountain of the Drum Rockies as she wondered what was going on. A few more cannons went off, but Wren didn't have the feeling anyone was being attacked. A second later a great, beautiful pink light filled the sky.

Wren looked towards the tallest mountain with slightly widened eyes when seeing that it almost looked like a giant Sakura tree. She wasn't sure how this happened, but it was such a beautiful sight. Was this…was this Kureha's doing? Wren continued to watch the pink snow fall and collect around the top of the mountain to continue to look beautiful. Wren smiled a small smile as a fond memory came to mind.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren let out a laugh as she ran down the Sakura petal covered path as the Sakura trees lining the path swayed in the soft wind with their petals dancing around. Wren did a little twirl with another peel of laughter leaving her lips._

 _"Wren, if you don't slow down, you might hurt yourself." Law called after her as he and Corazon walked at a slower pace behind her._

 _Corazon just laughed as he continued to watch Wren twirl around happily while trying to catch a Sakura flower. Law sighed wondering if Wren wasn't listening to him…again. She had a bad habit of not wanting to listen to him. Even if he was just trying to make sure she didn't get hurt._

 _"Niisan! Niisan!" Wren suddenly called excitedly as she hurried back to him and Corazon. "Look."_

 _She held out her opened palm to show him that she was carefully holding a delicate, pink Sakura flower in her hand. It seemed so small an insignificant, but it brought a big smile to Wren's face._

 _"I caught one." Wren said. "Isn't it pretty?"_

 _"…meh…" Was all Law replied._

 _Wren pouted at him as he gave a shrug of indifference. She really got so annoyed when he brushed her off, or the things she thinks are special._

 _"Niisan is a meanie!" Wren whined as she waved her other hand up and down while having her small tantrum. "I brought this over to cheer you up because you always look so mopey!"_

 _"Maybe because I'm dying in a few months." Law retorted with a deadpanned expression._

 _Wren felt her tiny heart break, and her eyes started to water. Law winced when seeing what he had done. Corazon shook his head at the boy as Wren let out a sniffle._

 _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Law said as he took the Sakura flower from her. "It's really pretty! And it makes me happy, see?"_

 _He gave a forced grin that actually looked rather funny. Wren blinked at him as Law continued to give her that forced grin. She then smiled brightly as a giggle left her lip._

 _"You look silly, Niisan!" Wren said as she let a few more giggles left her mouth._

 _Law's eyes widened as she continued to laugh. He then hung his head feeling embarrassed for acting like fool to make her happy._

 _"Shut-up, Baka!" Law snapped as Wren continued laughing._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Wren let out a soft chuckle remembering that day so vividly. And that is a memory she doesn't mind to remember. Maybe Winter Islands weren't just good for bringing back sad memories. When Wren heard a hoot, she turned her head to see one of her monster monkeys were trying to get her attention as it and the other three were waiting for her.

"Yes, I am coming." Wren said. "Please, do your best to get the ship ready."

The four monster monkeys saluted Wren then got to work as she jumped up onto the ship. She went to check on Karoo as he laid huddled near the mainmast.

"We need to get you warmed up." Wren said then held up her hand. "Horā-Horā: Twin Salamanders."

Two fire salamanders that were about the size of Wren in length appeared at her feet. They looked up at her to await orders.

"Warm Ducky-chan." Wren said. "No cooking him. He's not food for you."

Karoo stiffened with his eyes widening as the salamanders turned their heads to look back at him. One even licked its lips, which had Karoo's heart picking up in rhythm due to fear.

"Not even a nibble." Wren said sternly. "Understand?"

The salamanders seemed disappointed though they did nod their heads. The flames covering their bodies went out, but they didn't turn black like the last one. They'd need more heat since Karoo had been laying in the icy water for who knows how long. They wrapped around Karoo, which had the duck stiffening. However, soon the warmth from their bodies had him relaxing, and he even snuggled into one, which had it hissing in annoyance. Wren chuckled at the sight then went to make sure the preparations to make sail were going accordingly as the Sakura pink snow continued to fall behind her.

"You all are doing well." Wren said when seeing over half the work was complete. "Good job."

Some of the monster monkeys blushed at the compliments while turning away shyly from their mistress. Wren smiled at the four of them then heard shouts coming from shore. She walked up to the front as the motioned for the monster monkeys to continue working, which they did so immediately. Wren made it to the front to see all the others had arrived.

"Wren-chwan, have you missed me?!" Sanji, who was now awake, asked as he spun around.

Wren sweat-dropped while quite sure it hasn't been that long since she last saw him.

"Yes, yes." She said to make him happy. "Now if you want, we can leave immediately. Everything is seconds away from being completed."

She heard a few hoots from behind her, so she turned her head to see one of her little companions giving her a thumbs up.

"Correction," Wren said as she looked back to her crew. "All preparations are complete."

"Alright!" Luffy shouted while looking excited. "Let's set sail!"


	9. The Real Chess Game Starts Now

Wren, who was sitting on the railing in the back of the ship, sat off to the side watching Drum Island become smaller and smaller as they sailed away from it. Behind her the boys were being as rowdy as ever. They had already broke out the booze and were talking about singing as Luffy was running around with chopsticks in his nose and mouth.

"Wren-chwan, sing with us!" Sanji said as he jumped to his feet. "I bet you have a beautiful voice!"

"Yeah, come on, Wren!" Luffy said. "Let's all sing!"

Wren glanced back at her companions wondering how they could be so rowdy after everything that's happened.

"I'm sorry. I don't really feel like singing at the moment." Wren said as she smiled apologetically.

Luffy whined a bit in disappointment though soon forgot his disappointment as he started acting goofily again. Sanji sobered up at bit as he looked at Wren's face carefully as if looking for something. Wren just went back to looking at Drum Island as she brought one knee to her chest.

"You know, all the staring you're doing is enough to make a girl blush." Wren joked softly as she glanced at Sanji.

Sanji chuckled as he straightened up a bit as he reached inside his coat to pull out his cigarette pack. He placed one in his mouth then lit it up with a match. After taking a drag from it, he let out the smoke in one breath.

"Forgive me, Mademoiselle." Sanji said as he dipped his head. "It's hard to look away from such an exquisite beauty such as yourself. If I could, I would gaze at you all day, every day, but even then it wouldn't be enough time looking at your magnificence."

Wren knew Sanji was just playfully flirting, and she's had many men flirt with her…but she still felt her cheeks warm just the slightest at his words. She was about to say something in return, but Vivi's worried tones reached her ears, which had her and Sanji looking back at the princess of Alabasta. Vivi was looking at her duck companion in worry as the fire salamanders continued to keep him warm.

"Karoo, what in the world were you doing frozen in the river?" Vivi asked.

Karoo just weakly quacked as he continued to snuggle into the warmth of the salamanders.

"That bird." Zoro laughed. "Ten beries say that the slipped and fell into the river. He's a clumsy one."

"Be quiet, Bushido-san." Vivi said to Zoro.

Karoo continued to quack as Chopper was nodding and going along with whatever Karoo was saying.

"He said that the guy named Zoro was swimming in the river and disappeared." Chopper translated. "He thought Zoro was in trouble, so he jumped into the river to help, and ended up getting frozen in it."

"So this is all your fault!" Nami snapped as she hit Zoro hard on the head.

He winced holding his head as Wren shook hers. What fool would go swimming in the river of a winter island to being with? Zoro apparently.

"So you were really able to understand everything Karoo was just saying?" Vivi asked.

"Yes." Chopper said nodding. "I'm still technically half animal by nature, so I can understand what they say. Even the fire salamanders that Wren summoned. Like this one is saying that he doesn't appreciate being used as a pillow by something he'd usually just eat."

He gestured to the salamanders as the one Karoo was snuggling up to continued to hiss in complaint. Karoo stiffened when hearing that, but was too comfortable to move.

"You can talk to animals?" Vivi said.

"Oh, wow, Chopper!" Nami said. "Between your medical skills and talking to animals you've got some amazing talents!"

Chopper's eyes widened for a moment before he started smiling widely while doing his odd dance, which had Usopp and Luffy looking at him curiously.

"Don't be silly, you jerk!" Chopper said as he continued his odd dance. "Flattering me like that won't make me happy or anything!"

"He sure looks happy." Luffy and Usopp said in unison.

Wren lightly chuckled as she smiled at Chopper. She was happy to see that he was having a good time.

"Hey, what did you mean by Chopper's medical skills anyway?" Zoro asked.

Nami stepped up beside Chopper to place her hand on his shoulder, which had him jumping just the slightest.

"Well, Chopper here is a doctor, and a first rate one at that." Nami said. "Dr. Kureha taught him everything there is to know about medicine."

All the guys gathered around Chopper to look at him in surprise as they all asked him a bunch of questions to see if what Nami was saying was true. Wren blinked wondering if Luffy and Sanji really didn't already know about Chopper being a doctor. Isn't Chopper's doctor's skills one of the reasons that Luffy wanted to recruit him?

"Really, Luffy, if you didn't know that, why did you think Chopper was when you asked him to join us?" Nami asked.

"A talking, transforming reindeer monster." Luffy said bluntly.

"Back up food." Sanji added as he smoked his cigarette.

Chopper flinched away from Sanji in fright while really wondering if he'd end up being food. Suddenly there was dark aura behind the group, which had them stiffening up. They all turned slowly to look back at Wren who had a sweet smile on her face. However, despite the smile, it was like she was cloaked in darkness that had the crew frightened. Even Zoro gulped.

"Sanji-san, I am only going to say this once." Wren said as she opened her eye to pin her gaze to the chef. "If you ever think of cooking Chopper, I'll be cooking you to feed to my pets, understand?"

"Y…Yes, Wren-chwan." Sanji said with his eye in the shape of a heart.

He was both frightened and awed by Wren, thinking she was hot when she was being scary. The scary aura left around Wren, and her smile turned into an actual sweet smile.

"I'm glad we have come to an understanding." Wren said.

She pat his cheek then walked away, and he watched her go as his gaze followed the sway of her hips. He let out a love struck sigh as he practically melted into the deck.

"So beautiful." He said.

Everyone else looked at him as if he was crazy considering how frightening Wren was being seconds ago. Chopper then gasped when he realized something.

"Wait, oh no!" Chopper exclaimed. "I was in such a big hurry that I left my medical bag behind. It had all of my tools in it."

"Your bag?" Nami asked then held one up. "But isn't this it?"

Chopper turned around looking surprised to see that Nami really did have his medical bag.

"That is my bag." Chopper said.

"It was in the back of the sleigh." Nami explained.

Wren smiled a bit while already realizing that Kureha planned and was most likely hoping that Chopper would go out to sea with the rest of them. That could only explain how the bag got in the sleigh if it wasn't put there by Chopper.

"How is that?" Chopper asked.

"What do you mean?" Nami asked. "Weren't you the one who packed the sleigh and got it ready for the trip?"

Chopper seemed confused at first, but when his eyes started to water, Wren knew he came to the same conclusion as her. He realized that Kureha wanted him to go all along with this crew. Wren then looked back to the others as they started getting rowdy again. Food and drink were flying as Zoro and Sanji got into a fight, and Luffy wasn't helping by cheering them on. Usopp kept trying to speak over them, but it wasn't really working in his favor. Then Karoo was putting too much food into his mouth at once. Wren found herself starting to smile as she looked at how ridiculous they were acting. They were a strange bunch of rookies that was for sure.

"I propose a toast to our new friend, Chopper!" Usopp said as he held up his drink.

The others quickly got their own, and Sanji hurried to Wren's side to give her a mug of booze as well. He then sat down beside her as everyone raised their drinks high.

"Yeah, Chopper!" They cheered.

Wren just raised her mug silently with that smile still on her face. She then took a sip from her drink even if she wasn't the biggest fan of grog. As they sailed away from Drum Island, they all continued to party with Wren watching them. Perhaps she could have some fun on this crew…in between her little chess game at least.

* * *

The next day on the island of Garnet, which was an island neighboring to Drum Island, Garrett looked at the door in front of him. Behind that door he could vaguely hear a piano being played a soft voice crooning a sweet melody. However, he wasn't here for that. No…he was here to deliver that message that Saturn Wren told him to give to the scariest man alive. Garrett gulped then raised his head to knock on the door. The piano stopped playing, and the singing voice ceased as well.

"Come in."

Garrett took a deep breath then slowly opened the door. As he stepped inside, he saw Donquixote Doflamingo sitting on the loveseat in the room as if it was a throne. He had one leg crossed over the other, and his feathery mantel rested on his shoulders.

"Ah, you're back sooner than I imagined." Doflamingo said as he chuckled. "Isn't he, Gessica?"

Garrett glanced at the woman, who was sitting at the piano, in the room as Doflamingo addressed her.

"Yes, we weren't expecting you for another few days." She agreed with a voice as smooth as silk as she stood up.

She then walked over to stand behind the loveseat to place her hand on Doflamingo's shoulder. This woman was a beautiful angel with a tall, hour-glass figure. Her chest and hips were well endowed, and could have any man drooling at the sight. She had long luscious red hair that fell to mid-back. Her long bangs covered her right eye, and mixed into her hair in a long wave. Her eyes were rich green that shined like emeralds as they stuck out against her creamy toned skin and dark eyelashes and mascara. Her lips were full and plush, and colored with red lipstick.

She wore a scarlet red strapless dress with an open back that fell to her ankles, and had a large slit going up the left side to her hip. On her feet were white high heels that brought more attention to her long, creamy legs. Then on her hands were black opera gloves that nearly went all the way up to her shoulders. Around her neck was a pink feathery boa, which wrapped around her neck to have the two ends of the boa falling back over her shoulders. Then in her ears were simple diamond studs.

This woman was Coney R. Gessica, and it was well known that she rarely left Doflamingo's side. Some said it was because they were lovers. Others said it was because she was his personal guard. Then other people said it was both. No one could tell you exactly why. The only clear fact was that if you had an audience with Doflamingo that you would most likely being seeing Gessica as well.

"Now where is Wren?" Doflamingo asked as he grinned broadly. "Don't tell me you returned without her?"

Garrett gulped while feeling as if his heart might leap out of his chest at any moment.

"I believe he did, Doffy-sama." Gessica said as she leaned down to place her arms around Doflamingo's shoulders.

He reached up to place one hand over the two she had clasped together on his chest. It wasn't hard for his hands to completely cover both of hers since he was so much larger than her.

"Oh?" Doflamingo said. "If you didn't return with her then why did you return? Did she give you the slip?"

"N-no." Garrett said. "Not exactly."

The grin remained on Doflamingo's face, but Garrett felt as if he was walking a very thin line. And if he didn't say the right thing soon that he'd be losing his head literally.

"Then what happened exactly?" Doflamingo asked. "Did you not use the strong tranquilizers I gave you to weaken her?"

"Actually, I couldn't use them." Garrett said. "The strong winter winds on Drum Island kept blowing the tranquilizers off course, so I used sea prism bullets to weaken her."

The grin slipped off of Doflamingo's face, which had Garrett stiffening in fear.

"You shot Wren…more than once?" Doflamingo asked. "Did I not specifically say I wanted her alive? And did you forget she is part of the Doflamingo Family?"

Gessica narrowed her visible eye at Garrett, which had him sweating profusely. He knew he was going to die no matter what, but he opened his mouth to keep speaking anyway.

"Y-yes, s-sir, and n-no I d-didn't forget that she is a part of the Doflamingo Family." Garrett said nodding. "Which is why I shot her three times where I knew I'd miss her vital organs. However, she remained conscious long enough to get away from me. By the time I managed to catch up she had had the bullets removed from her side. After that there was no slowing her down…she flushed me out…then when I tried to put distance between us, she found me all over again…and I was completely helpless against her."

Garrett shook while remembering his confrontation with Wren. It was like coming face-to-face with a demon, and if he were to live, he'd never forget his run in with Saturn Wren for the rest of his days. That look in her one visible eye would haunt him forever.

"So she defeated you." Gessica guessed. "Or perhaps she didn't even have to touch you and you fled. Wren-chan can be quite scary after all."

Gessica have a small chuckle as if it was adorable to her how scary Wren could be.

"She did defeat me." Garrett said as he bowed his head. "And…and she told me to give you a package from her, Donquixote Doflamingo."

"Oh, she sent something for me?" Doflamingo asked as he grinned once more.

Garrett held out a small package that had fit perfectly in his pocket. He then hesitantly walked towards Doflamingo to hold out the package to him. Doflamingo took the package from Garrett then opened it up. He pulled out a black king chess piece that had a small note attached to it. Doflamingo's grin grew as he read the message.

' _It's your move.'_

 _—Saturn Wren_

"My move, huh?" Doflamingo asked. "I suppose I can indulge you and play this game of yours, Wren. Now, I suppose I should rid myself on my first paw since you've made it useless."

Doflamingo turned his eyes back to Garrett, and the man didn't even have time to scream before his head was cut from his body as Doflamingo simply moved one finger. As his head fell to the floor, Gessica looked back to Doflamingo as he was studying the chess piece.

"Are you sure you wish to indulge her?" Gessica asked. "She did betray you."

"She is only throwing a small tantrum." Doflamingo said as he chuckled. "Can you blame her? I did kill everyone she loved back in her homeland. She'll return once she tires of her game. She just needs time to cool down, so I will indulge her for now."

Gessica smiled while supposing he was right. Wren would return because there was nowhere to go out in the world with people that would accept her like Doflamingo, Gessica, and the rest of their crew does.

"You're right." Gessica said as she rested her head briefly on top of his. "She'll come home to us eventually."

Doflamingo's grin grew a bit in silent reply as Gessica moved back to return to playing the piano and singing for him. As her sweet voice filled the room, Doflamingo went back to studying the chess piece.

"Do you think you can beat the very person who taught you how to play this game, Wren?" He asked the chess piece as if it was Wren itself.

As he continued to gaze at the chess piece, he remembered a distance memory that involved chess and a little girl.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Doflamingo sat across from a seven year old Wren as she was looking down at the chessboard in concentration. Her tongue was slightly sticking out to the left as she had her head tilted to the right. He waited patiently for her to make her move as he took a swig from his brandy bottle. Wren finally moved by taking her white bishop to take out his black bishop, which was protecting his king._

 _"Check." She said._

 _Doflamingo chuckled when he saw that he was indeed in check. However, she left her own king wide open to his knight. He moved his knight forward then gently tipped over her king._

 _"Check and mate." He said._

 _Wren let out a small whine as she puffed her cheeks out in a pout, which had Doflamingo chuckling once more._

 _"You did a good job." Doflamingo said. "But you sacrificed your queen too early in the game, and then you were hesitant to sacrifice any other pieces."_

 _"Well, you told me to think of them as our crewmates, Young Master." Wren said as she looked down at her lap. "I don't want to sacrifice any of them."_

 _Doflamingo hummed slightly while understanding why she hadn't been too aggressive with her strategy. She didn't wish to sacrifice the people she cared about._

 _"Even if they are your crewmates, Wren, you have to be prepared to sacrifice them." Doflamingo said as he looked down at the chessboard. "Because if you're too soft with your strategy you might lose everything by protecting that one person…that one pawn. You don't want to lose everyone, do you?"_

 _Wren looked up while shaking her head in reply to answer Doflamingo's question._

 _"And if you did not wish to sacrifice your nakama so quickly then why did you let the queen go so quickly?" Doflamingo asked._

 _"Well, I…I saw the queen as myself." Wren answered honestly. "And I'd rather sacrifice myself than one of my nakama."_

 _Another soft hearted answer that would not due because he needed to nurture Wren into someone who could play this game without flinching at the loss of a pawn piece while the queen sits back and let's the pawns and other pieces be taken._

 _"I see." Doflamingo said. "You should try to stop thinking like that as well. The queen is a very important piece to this game just as much as you are an important piece to this crew. You should not sacrifice the queen so readily, and keep her protected just as much as the king. Only when there is no other options should you sacrifice your queen, Wren. Do you understand?"_

 _"Yes…I understand, Young Master." Wren said nodding._

 _Doflamingo's grin widened a bit, and he reached out to pat Wren on top of her head._

 _"Very good." Doflamingo said. "I will have you playing this game as well as me someday, Wren. Someday soon."_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Doflamingo set the chess piece down onto the coffee table in front of him then placed his hands under his chin to rest his chin on them.

"Let's find out if the student has surpassed the teacher." Doflamingo said.

He then gave a deep, ominous chuckle as the lenses of his sunglasses gleamed dangerously in the dimly lit room.

* * *

Wren sat up in the crow's nest tossing a white chess piece up and down in her hand. She was looking up at the sky with a thoughtful look in her eye. She then caught the chess piece in her hand once more before looking at it. It was a white queen, and as she looked at it, she felt as if Doflamingo was looking at the black king piece she had sent him at this very moment as well. She felt her lips turn up into a smirk.

"Now the game really beings." Wren said. "And this time, I will remain standing until the very end to keep the white king in play. I should thank-you for what you have taught me, Doflamingo. I'll be sure to use all what you've taught me to end this game and win."

She tossed the white chess piece up once more, and it did a small spin while in the air. She caught it in her hand again just as a dark shadow fell over the entire ship. She looked up seeing a large bird flying overhead. Hmm, it seemed like some kind of eagle. She stood up in the crow's nest to watch it fly past the ship.

"Hey, seagull!"

Wren looked down seeing Luffy, Chopper, and Nami at the front of the ship as Luffy was calling out to the bird. The bird turned around at Luffy's call to start heading right towards the ship, which had Nami freaking out. Luffy just laughed even as the bird swooped low down onto the ship. It soared high into the air while barely brushing against the crow's nest, which had Wren teetering backwards. However, she kept her footing. She watched the bird fly high while realizing that it had Luffy in its beak.

"Can that boy not stay out of trouble?" Wren asked as Chopper started to freak out down below.

He ran to get the others as Wren watched the bird fly around with Luffy in its beak. She had a feeling her services weren't needed, so she didn't spring into action. It seemed her hunch was right because seconds later, Luffy drilled the large bird onto the back deck, which had the entire Going Merry shaking.

"I have a feeling there will never be any moments of peace that last long on this ship." Wren said.

She sat on the edge of the crow's nest while tossing the chess piece up and down once more. They'd be reaching Alabasta in a few days, which meant she'd need to make contact with that informant of hers that's most likely already there.

"I'm sure she isn't going to be so happy that I've kept her waiting." Wren said as she chuckled.

Wren heard her name being called from down below, so she looked down seeing that Nami and the others had gathered down at the stairs below.

"We all need to talk!" Nami said as she waved up at her. "Come on down!"

Wren caught the chess piece one last time in her hand then pushed herself off the ledge of the crow's nest. Nami gasped in shock since that wasn't an easy jump to make. However, Wren easily landed on her feet while not seeming fazed.

"Don't do that again!" Nami snapped. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, Nami-san." Wren said as she smiled sheepishly.

Nami just sighed shaking her head as Wren sat down on the ship's side of the ship. Zoro sat down on the deck beside her while leaning against the ship.

"So what is Alabasta?" Chopper asked.

"It's the country where Vivi's father rules." Nami explained.

"Yeah, accept there's this guy named Crocodile who's trying to take over the country right now." Usopp added.

Wren was sure there was more than just taking over this country that Crocodile had in mind. Yes, this place could easily become his personal sandbox, and being surrounded by so much sand and little water gave him the advantage he'd need to keep control here. However, there had to be something more that he wanted. At least that was Wren's theory.

"And Crocodile is one of the Shichibukai." Sanji added.

Wren lightly frowned as an image of Doflamingo flashed in her mind. Wren didn't care about the other Shichibukai because in her opinion he was the scariest. Now, she knew she might not be as strong as the other Shichibukai, but she knew for certain that she didn't fear the rest of them...well, perhaps maybe Kuma.

"Who are those guys?" Chopper questioned.

"They're pirates who were given authority by the World Government." Nami replied.

Just another one of the World Government's less than bright ideas in Wren's opinion.

"The government actually supports pirates?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, pretty weird, huh?" Usopp asked.

"It might seem that way, but honestly the government has a very good reason to give those seven pirates their titles as Shichibukai." Wren said then sighed. "Even if I don't completely agree with it all."

The others all looked towards Wren as she crossed one leg over the other as her arms were crossed over her chest.

"Oh, that's right." Nami said. "Wren's former captain is a Shichibukai, so I'm sure Wren knows more about them than we do."

The others murmured in agreement as Wren looked down in her lap. It was true that she knew better than the others what the true reasons were for the Shichibukai to exist.

"The Shichibukai are some of the seven strongest pirates currently sailing the seas." Wren said. "They were given their statuses when the World Government saw what kind of mayhem they could cause and how powerful they were. One Shichibukai has the power to wipe out a small fleet of pirates on his or her own."

Her crewmates' eyes widened when hearing this, and Chopper gulped as he wondered how scary these Shichibukai were in person.

"The moment they accept the status of a Shichibukai their bounties are frozen along with the bounties any of their subordinates might have." Wren said. "There is never more than seven of them because the government wouldn't know how to handle more than seven dangerous pirates like they have now. These seven strong pirates not only take out other pirates for the World Government, but they also help keep the balance between the Marines and the Yonko, which are the four pirate emperors of the New World. Without them the World Government fears that the balance between the Marines and the Yonko would be lost, and that a battle between Marines and the Yonko would happen. And this battle would be so large that it would affect the entire world, and change it completely with no chance of recovering what we have now."

Nami and Usopp both gulped this time while feeling completely freaked out. They thought the Shichibukai sounded scary, but these Yonko sounded even scarier.

"And Crocodile is one of these Shichibukai?" Chopper asked.

"Yes." Wren said nodding. "Crocodile has a frozen bounty of 80 million beries. I know that seems small, but it's best not to underestimate him."

Her crewmates looked at her as if she was crazy when she called Crocodile's bounty small, but Luffy just laughed seeming even more excited now.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting this Crocodile guy!" Luffy said as he grinned.

Wren, who was growing used to her new captain's attitude, wasn't surprised to see Luffy wasn't fazed in the slightest after hearing Wren explain how powerful the Shichibukai are.

"Crocodile is considered a hero back home." Vivi said. "He helps get rid of the pirates that attack Alabasta. However, his good deeds only appear to be good on the surface. He is an evil man. In truth, he is manipulating the citizens of Alabasta to bring out his Civil War, so that he can take over the country. No one has realized what Crocodile is doing yet. Not the people. Not even my father."

That just shows how cunning Crocodile is. However, if he isn't careful one little slip up can reveal him as what he truly is. Wren plans to do just that. Or just get rid of him all together. After that, she has to make sure there is no way Doflamingo can scvange up anything left behind by Crocodile. That means she must make sure Baroque Works is completely brought crumbling down. She was brought out of her thoughts as Luffy hit his fist into his open palm.

"Right!" He said. "Well, this should be fun. All we have to do is beat up that Crocodile guy!"

"I believe it will be more complicated than that, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "Yes, taking out Crocodile means taking a dangerous element out of the game. However, things have already been set in motion that will continue to escalate if they're not stopped either."

Luffy looked at Wren in confusion as if not fully understanding what she was trying to say.

"She's right." Vivi said. "First we have to avert the Civil War in Alabasta and get Baroque Works out of the picture."

Luffy still didn't seem to fully get it, and Wren was certain all what was on his mind was beating up Crocodile.

"Baroque Works?" Chopper asked.

"Oh yeah, you don't know anything about them either." Usopp said in realization. "To be honest, I don't understand what's going on with them myself. They've got a really complicated system of agents, bosses, and partners."

"It's actually not that complicated." Wren said shrugging.

Wren's crewmates looked at her in confusion, which reminded her that only Vivi knew about the spy amongst the Baroque Work ranks that was feeding information to Doflamingo.

"One of the top agents in Baroque Works is an informant of mine." Wren said shrugging. "Or rather used to be. I'm sure she hates me now, and would love to have my head on a platter."

Wren said this so casually as if it didn't bother her that there was someone out there who hated her enough to chop off her head to place on a platter.

"Do you have informants everywhere or something?" Zoro asked.

"Well, they're not mine anymore, but they are scattered all over the Grand Line." Wren said. "I only personally chose eight when Doflamingo put me in charge of business negations and information. And they were all in charge of a thousand or so other informants, which Doflamingo supplied that reported to them, and what those eight learned they reported to me if it was important."

"And this one informant of yours in pretty high up on the food chain in Baroque Works?" Zoro asked.

Wren nodded her head as she straightened out her skirt a bit when it started to wrinkle up.

"How high?" Zoro asked.

"I'm sure Vivi-san could explain it better than I can." Wren said. "She was a part of Baroque Works personally after all."

"Well, it's like this." Vivi began. "First, at the very top of the organization is the boss—Crocodile. He's known as Mr. 0. There are a total of twelves agents and one animal who receive orders from the boss directly. For the most part these twelve male agents operate as part of a pair with a female agent. Mr. 1 is paired with Ms. Double Finger. Mr. 2 is paired with Ms. Halloween."

Wren twitched the slightest when Vivi mentioned Ms. Halloween, but it went unnoticed by the others.

"Mr. 3 is the candle man we ran into on Little Garden, right?" Zoro asked.

"That's right." Vivi said nodding. "And his partner is the painter Ms. Golden Week."

Wren was sure that the informant posted on Baroque Works told Wren about these two. Apparently, the two annoyed her, but Wren knows very well that it doesn't take much to annoy her.

"Oh, yeah, that little girl." Nami said.

She remembers vividly that the girl was proving to be kind of hard for Luffy to handle in the beginning.

"Mr. 4 is next in line." Vivi said. "He's paired up with Ms. Merry Christmas. I don't know much more about those two though."

Wren remembers "Ms. Halloween" telling her that she really wished to get rid of those agents. Apparently they annoyed her too.

"Then there's that snot guy." Luffy said.

Wren frowned at the mention of a snot guy because it made her think of a certain mucus man who likes to get to close to people's personal space.

"Mr. 5." Usopp corrected.

"Snot?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, his snot is explosive." Usopp explained.

Oh, so he used snot and it blew up. Now Wren was thinking about a certain short-tempered explosive man—not that he made snot explode exactly—, and thinking of him didn't annoy her…it made her sad, and that's what annoyed her. Because she didn't want to feel sad because she missed him because she wasn't supposed to be missing him. As Wren was mentally berating herself for such homesick emotions, Vivi continued speaking.

"Mr. 5's body can be used as an entire weapon." Vivi said.

"His partner Ms. Valentine has the Kilo-Kilo no Mi powers." Nami added.

"That's the woman who can change her weight whenever she wants." Zoro said.

Oh, now there was a person who could change their weight, which was a reminder of a certain large and hairy man who used to let Wren ride on his shoulders. Wren sighed as she tried to push the good memories to the side. Those people weren't her nakama anymore. They betrayed her, so why should does she miss them so much?!

"The agents with codenames from Mr. 1 to Mr. 5 are known as officer agents. They each possess one of the Devil Fruit powers, and they are only sent on the most important missions." Vivi said then looked towards Wren. "And you mentioned a few days ago that this former informant of yours was amongst their ranks."

Everyone else looked towards Wren as she quickly composed herself, so they wouldn't notice her enter turmoil. However, Sanji caught the lingering frustration in her gaze before she covered it up. He looked at her in concern as he wondered what was bothering her pretty head now. He'd love to just take away all her troubles, so he wouldn't have to see such bothered looks in her lovely red orb anymore.

"Yes." She said with a calm tone. "She's Mr. 2's partner."

Vivi's eyes widened in shock since she thought it would have been someone lower ranked amongst the top five. Like Ms. Valentine or Ms. Merry Christmas. How strong was this informant to have gotten as highly ranked as she has?

"And agents Mr. 6 through Mr. 12 are in charge of fundraising, yes?" Wren prompted, so Vivi would continue.

"That's right." Vivi said nodding. "They make money for the organization by heading up the employs at the entrance to the Grand Line."

"Hey, what about that odd monkey and chicken pair I ran into?" Sanji asked.

Wren blinked in confusion because Ms. Halloween told her that the Unluckies were an otter and vulture. Not a monkey and chicken.

"That's Mr. 13 and Ms. Friday." Vivi explained. "They're the agency's punishment squad. They punish any agent who fails to complete a mission. And there are more. Under the officer agents are 200 men called billions, and there are another 1,800 men under the frontier agents known as millions."

So in total they had to take out 2,000 underlings, roughly twelve agents and their partners, then one animal pair, and finally the boss himself along with his partner. They had their work cut out for them, but Wren always did enjoy a challenge. And this wouldn't be the first time she has to take care of underworld business and all its men. Of course, she was with her old crew, and not—Wren glanced over towards the others kept talking—a bunch of rookies. This was going to be even more challenging than she first thought. Well, she'd just have to plan things out, and see how they go. Wren then looked out towards the ocean with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"I wonder if we shall cross paths, Elspeth." Wren said as she brushed some hair out of her face.

* * *

On Little Garden over the sound of the island's animal inhabitants scurrying around, a voice could be heard and another voice that sounded as if it was in pain."

"Un— _ow!_ —deux— _argh!_ —trois!" Mr. 2, who was also known as Bon Clay and an officer agent of Baroque Works, counted as he continued to beat up his ship's navigator.

The men around winched at the sound of the man's cries as Bon Clay hit him against the tree once more.

"I'm sorry, Mr. 2; Mr. Bon Clay, sir!" The navigator said.

Bon Clay just frowned as he looked at all of his subordinates with clear aggravation on his face.

"Would you idiots just quit playing around?!" Bon Clay demanded. "Damn it! Are you completely clueless?! Do you even know who I am?!"

No one answered him as the navigator picked himself off the ground from where he had fallen after Bon Clay released him.

"I am Bon Clay!" Bon Clay declared. "A Baroque Works officer agent. I strike fear into the hearts of anyone who sees me."

There was a small scoff from someone in the background then the sound of a wrapper being unwrapped. It was hard to be scary when looking like a prima ballerina regret in this person's mind. Bon Clay didn't seem to hear this scoff because he just pointed towards the navigator.

"Hey, you, Navigator, tell me something." Bon Clay said.

"Uh, yes, sir?" He asked as he stood up straighter.

"Does that peabrain mind of yours remember what the boss's exact orders were?" Bon Clay asked.

He swept his hand out in front of the navigator who watched it nervously since he didn't know when Bon Clay would use it to strike him.

"Yes, Mr. 2." The Navigator said. "The orders were to kill Mr. 3 on his way along the direct route between Little Garden and Alabasta."

"Okay then." Bon Clay said. "Maybe you're not entirely useless then, now are you?"

A second later he grabbed the navigator by his throat to slam him into the tree, which had the others wincing as if they felt his pain as well.

"Taking a direct route means you travel in a straight line, doesn't it, Navigator?" Bon Clay asked. "That's why we went straight from Alabasta to Little Garden, isn't that right?"

Bon Clay then added his other hand to the man's throat to start choking the poor navigator.

"But then something seems to have gone wrong with the plan now, hasn't it, Navigator?" Bon Clay asked as he repeatedly hit the navigator against the tree. "We reached Little Garden without as much as seeing Mr. 3 while on our way here. Now that seems to indicate to me that you fools missed Mr. 3's ship entirely."

"Or Mr. 3 took a different route than us." A voice piped up from behind.

Everyone but Bon Clay stiffened while turning around to look at the owner of the voice who appeared to be a young boy who was rather on the short side. He had shaggy black hair that was a mess on top his head as if he had some serious bedhead going on. His skin was deeply tanned, and there was one scar going across the left corner of his mouth. His eyes were an orange color that could almost be described as pumpkin orange. Then his nails were painted black, and oddly enough the boy's hands were rather delicate for a young man.

The young boy wore an orange cap that was shaped like a Jack-O-Lantern on top his head over his shaggy hair. He then wore a baggy black hoodie that had "Trick-Or-Treat" on the front in orange letters while on the back it said "Pumpkin Queen" in the same shade of orange. He had on baggy green shorts that stopped at his knees, and on his feet were worn old orange high-tops that had Jack-O-Lantern faces down on the sides. In his ears were one inch gages, and around his neck was a black choker with spikes.

"What was that?" Bon Clay asked.

"I said he could have taken another route." The "boy" repeated. "Now we can stand around placing blame or talking theory, or we could try to find Mr. 3 before the boss sends Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger here."

Bon Clay frowned though supposed his partner did have a point. If they stayed here much longer that gave more time for Mr. 3 to reach Alabasta.

"Fine." Bon Clay said with a dramatic sigh before turning to voice the men. "Now get ready to make sail!"

His shout had all the men scrambling around to get ready, and as they were running about, the boy swirled the lollipop around in his mouth.

"You seem to be in good mood today, Ms. Halloween." Bon Clay complimented.

The boy—or rather young girl who preferred to be boyish—looked towards Bon Clay with a quirked brow.

"You're usually off in your little corner of woe." Bon Clay said as he did a spin. "You do worry your partner so much when you're acting so gloomy."

"I only act gloomy because I'm stuck with you as a partner." Ms. Halloween deadpanned as she looked away from him.

Bon Clay flinched as if he had been slapped, and clutched his chest in a dramatic fashion.

"How could you say just a cruel thing to me, Ms. Halloween?!" He whined. "Friends shouldn't act so coldly to each other! Are you even listening to me?!"

Ms. Halloween ignored him completely as she crunched the lollipop between her teeth.

"Though I do suppose I am in a good mood." She said with a very tiny grin on her face, which had Bon Clay stop throwing his tantrum. "There's going to be a little family reunion soon, and I'm a bit… _excited_ for it."


	10. A Lady Should Never Be Improper

Wren sat in the women's quarters looking at the chess board in front of her. She had on a white sleeveless dress shirt under a brown vest that was backless. She then had on a pair of white tight fitting pants that were tucked into brown Victorian boots. She had her hair tied up into a loose yet elegant bun with a white ribbon. And sitting on the bridge of her nose was her reading glasses as her eyepatch laid off to the side. She was holding the receiver of a den-den mushi to her mouth while looking over some notes and other things she had on the desk she claimed.

"So you are already in Alabasta, are you?" She asked the person on the other end of the line.

 _"_ _Yeah."_ The voice came from the den-den mushi's mouth as it mimicked. _"I've been here a few days along with my superior and the subordinates. He's waiting to capture the very pirates you've decided to sail with. Apparently, he's made it his personal mission to capture Straw Hat Luffy, and the Ensign Tashigi has something to settle with Roronoa Zoro. Your new crew apparently caused a stir while I was away from Logue Town for a few days."_

Wren sighed since it sounded as if trouble was waiting for them the moment they stepped off the ship once they dock in Alabasta.

"Lovely." Wren said flippantly. "And do you have anything to tell me of Crocodile?"

 _"Well, I don't want to say too much over a den-den mushi line, but I suppose I can say_ _that he's practically worshiped by the people here."_ Wren's informant said as the den-den mushi rolled its eyes. _"He's got these fools duped. It's sickening how much they love this guy—a pirate."_

Wren chuckled when hearing the disgust in her friend's voice as the den-den mushi mimicked her disturbed expression.

"Now, now, keep talking about pirates while using that tone, and I might have my feelings hurts, Ling." Wren teased.

Wren only received grumbling in reply as an answer, which brought another chuckle from her. She knew Ling didn't like pirates. Not surprising considering she's a marine.

 _"_ _When should you be arriving?"_ Ling asked. _"And what the hell is this gift you mentioned earlier?"_

"Midday today." Wren said. "If I looked at the map correctly, we should be landing around Nanohana. And as for your gift it is a surprise that I'd rather not discuss over open lines. You never know who might be trying to tap into this conversation."

 _"_ _Yeah, you've got a point."_ Ling said then sighed. _"I'm in Nanohana now. If you're really going to be here so soon then I shall meet with you in town. In three hours meet me at the small restaurant known as Spice Bean. We can meet there, but come disguised."_

"I can manage that." Wren assured her.

Wren then wrote some things down in the notes in front of her that were sprawled over her desk.

 _"_ _Don't keep me waiting."_ Ling replied before she hung up with the den-den mushi making a "Kacha!" sound.

Wren chuckled then hung up her end as well. She pat the den-den mushi on the shell. She then brought out some snail food she kept in a small bag to place in front out of the den-den mushi. It started eating it up happily, which had her smiling at it. She then looked back to her notes as she finished writing what she had been. It was just side notes of information that her loyal informants have given her, and notes on her future plans on what she can do with this information or the resources she has.

Like the devil fruits for example. Wren glanced over at the last one in her possession since she had already done with the others what she wanted. Wren knew that Ms. Halloween must know that Wren was on her way to Alabasta by now because there was no way that Doflamingo wouldn't tell her. And Wren was certain Ms. Halloween would have something prepared for her, which meant Wren had to be sure to have some kind of counter strategy ready.

Wren then let out a soft sigh knowing there was really no more to plan that she already has to get through this Alabasta incident. Though she has of course left room in her plan to change things around in a split second's notice if she must. She knew to always have backup plans and wiggle room in case the first plan falls through. Wren started putting away all her notes while thinking she might go get some fresh air. Staying cooped up down here all day wasn't good for her she was sure. Besides, the crew sounded rather lively up on deck, and she would like to join them.

However, before she got up from her desk, a newspaper clipping of Law caught her eye. She reached out to pick it up, so to look down at the image of her brother. She's been trying to keep track of him ever since she learned he entered the Grand Line with his own pirate crew. Apparently they've been making some mayhem along their journey. Wren then picked up Law's wanted poster that she had kept when it was first issued to look at her brother's smirking face as the brim of his hat shadowed his eyes to give him a demented look.

"You have always been able to look frightening, haven't you, Niisan?" Wren asked as if Law was in the room with her.

Wren gave a small sigh as she set down both the wanted poster and newspaper clipping to look at the map she had been using to mark out the route it seemed her brother was taking. She was hoping he would be on the same route this crew was taking, so they could possible bump into each other, but alas that wasn't the case. So Wren was going to have to wait a bit longer before seeing her brother again. However, she knew there was one point on their opposite routes that joined together even if just once before reaching Sabaody. And that point was Water 7 the city of water.

"Will we see each other there?" Wren said. "Or will we once again be made to wait longer, Niisan?"

She shook her head knowing she couldn't torture herself with all this wondering. Besides, if she has calculated correctly then her crew and Law's crew should reach Sabaody roughly at the same time. She made sure to leave a few days out of the calculation as a pillow of sorts in case anything delayed them or kept them in one place for longer than it takes to log. Wren put away the map just as the trapdoor to the stairs opened. Sanji, who had his sleeves rolled up, walked down the stairs while grumbling something about annoying captains and fridge raiders.

"Is something wrong, Sanji-san?" Wren asked as she closed her right eye.

She then took off her glasses to set to the side. She grabbed her eyepatch next, so to place over her right eye.

"Nothing you have to worry your pretty head about, my dear." Sanji said. "I just came to check on you. No one has really seen you this morning except for Nami and Vivi. They said you've been mulling over things down here since before they woke up."

That was true. Wren woke up before the sun rose into the sky this morning since she couldn't sleep any longer. Her mind was whirling with so many thoughts.

"Just looking over a few things." Wren said. "I just didn't realize how much time had passed since I started working I suppose."

Sanji nodded. He could understand that. Time slips from him form time-to-time when he's working on something.

"Now what really is bothering you?" Wren said. "You were grumbling about fridge raiders."

Sanji sighed while sitting down on the couch, which folded out into a bed when needed.

"Luffy ate all the food we had." Sanji said frowning. "And so did Chopper, Usopp, and that damn duck. Now I can't cook anything for you or the other two lovely ladies on this ship!"

He had really wanted to make a special lunch for the ladies, and even make a lovely tea, which he knew would please Wren. However, even the tea leaves weren't spared during Luffy's raid.

"I see." Wren said. "Well, we should be reaching Alabasta soon, so I think we will all be okay until then. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I've gone hungry."

Sanji frowned though this time it wasn't in annoyance. This time it was almost in worry. He knew how like it was to nearly starve to death, so of course he knew how it was to go hungry. It was something he didn't want anyone to have to feel or have felt.

"Don't look so worried." Wren said as she smiled at Sanji. "Everything will be fine. Alabasta will be coming into view sooner than you think. It won't even take a whole day unless something else delays us."

"Yeah." Sanji said as he nodded though the worried look didn't completely leave his face. "But even if we fill up our stomachs in town, we still have a long road ahead of us."

His worried expression turned more into a thoughtful look as he wondered how much food he'd need to get in town, so they could survive the rest of this ordeal without starving to death. He felt a tap on his forehead, which brought him out of his thoughts. He blinked while looking at Wren as she was in front of him with her hands on her hips as she was leaning in to be at eyelevel with him.

"You're overthinking things." Wren said. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine, Sanji-san."

"Whatever you say, Darling~" Sanji said as he did that goofy love struck chuckle of his.

Wren slightly shook her head at Sanji's behavior, but she was honestly starting to get a bit used to it. She then pat him on top the head as if he was a child before sitting down beside him on the couch. She left out a soft sigh knowing she thought about going up on deck, but she honestly wouldn't mind taking a nap.

"You looked tired, Wren-chwan." Sanji commented.

"I suppose I am…just a bit." Wren said. "Getting information and using that information to make a strategy is more work than people might think. I'm trying to get as much information as I can on the current condition of Alabasta, which is proving harder than I liked. Then I'm trying to make notes of all that information to make a battle plan of sorts. We can't just go in with no plan whatsoever. And I know Vivi-san has her own way of wanting to go about things, but I don't believe she has what it takes to make a full battle strategy if worse comes to worst."

Wren wasn't trying to put down Vivi. She just knew the princess doesn't have what it takes to do what might have to be done in the end to take down Crocodile and Baroque Works.

"I have to look 100 moves ahead." Wren said. "And be ready to change my moves at any moment's notice. I can't hesitate to make decisions because that could lead to someone's death. I must be precise and firm with my judgements even if others may doubt them, and to ensure what I plan is secure, I need all the information I can get my hands on."

Sanji looked at Wren a bit in awe as she stared forward with a look of completely concentration on her face.

"Wren-chan, were you like a strategist on your last crew?" Sanji asked.

"I suppose you could say that." Wren said. "Really I had no actual title except for my title as a Family Executive of the Donquixote Family. Though Doflamingo did have me handle business negotiations often and gather information. To be good at negotiations I had to become well versed in the ways of strategizing whether it be strategizing how to get people to agreeing to make a deal, or war strategizing to win over territory for Doflamingo if negotiations through discussion didn't work."

That and Doflamingo personally took the time to show her how to make strategizes through playing chess. Honestly, it was thanks to him that she became a great strategist even if she hates to admit that.

"That's amazing." Sanji said grinning. "You're really smart, Wren-chan."

"Thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren replied. "Though I'm not that amazing. Anyone can strategize as long as they have the right tools."

She then blinked when sensing something or someone new on the ship. She frowned wondering who was on their ship. This presence didn't feel hostile. However, it made her a bit uneasy.

"Is something bothering you, Wren-chan?" Sanji asked.

Wren didn't reply right away as she debated whether or not to concern Sanji with whoever was on deck. She didn't sense the others gearing up for a fight, so she decided to let it be.

"No." Wren said as she shook her head. "Nothing's wrong."

She then stood up supposing she needed to at least stretch her legs and other muscles a bit since she's been sitting for so long. She stretched her arms above her head while trying to loosen up her muscles. She then opened her left eye, which had closed as she was stretching when she felt that other presence was now gone. She didn't know who was on this ship, but at least they were gone now. However, now she felt a larger presence that was more animal coming towards the ship. Based on its size and how it was coming from the ocean, Wren would say it's some kind of Sea King.

"It seems as if a Sea King is heading towards the ship." Wren said.

"What? Really?!" Sanji asked as he jumped up. "That means food!"

Wren chuckled at how excited he became at the prospect of food, but she then gasped when the ship shook violently. She went falling forward since she lost her footing. She fell into something before she and it hit the floor. She laid there a moment until the shaking stopping.

"How ungraceful." Wren said out loud as she pushed herself up a bit to rest on her forearms. "It's embarrassing."

She hasn't fell in a long time, but a simple shake from the ship had her falling on her face. She then blinked when realizing something. Her red orb looked directly into Sanji's face as said man was looking up at her with an expression so blissful you'd think he had died and gone to heaven. She then realized the position they were in on the floor. Sanji was under her with her legs straddling his waist, and her chest pressed against his as their noses barely blushed. Her eyes widened and her race turned read when realizing how improperly close she was to a man she wasn't married to. If her mother saw her now, she'd be appalled. Wren wasn't raised to be so indecent.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Sanji-san!" Wren said as she quickly got off of him. "Please forgive me for being so improper!"

Sanji sobered up from his bliss when seeing how upset Wren was from what happened. She even covered her face seeming so ashamed of herself even if it wasn't her fault how they fell. He had tried to catch her, but they both had ended up on the floor anyway. She must have been taught it wasn't proper to get so close to a man, especially in an intimate way, which is why she was so flustered compared to how calm and collected she usually is. Sanji sat up while reaching forward to gently grasp her wrists, which had her stiffening for a moment.

"It's alright." Sanji said softly as he gently pulled her hands away from her face.

He looked at Wren's blushing face with a kind smile on his face, which had her eye widening a bit.

"It was an accident." Sanji said. "You didn't do anything wrong, Wren-chan. You're still a proper lady in my eyes."

Wren bit her lip not knowing what to say in reply. She then looked down at her hands, which Sanji was holding gently in his own now. She looked to the side while still embarrassed. She then remembered the Sea King.

"Uh…Sanji-san, the Sea King." She reminded him.

His visible eye widened, and a second later he was running towards the stairs.

"Don't worry, Wren-chwan!" He called over his shoulder. "I'll catch that thing for sure, and make you a wonderful dish."

He was then gone as Wren remained sitting on the floor. She placed her hand over her fast beating heart while still feeling so embarrassed. Not only had she landed on a man in such an improper way, but she lost her composure. Her mother must be turning over in her grave…if she even had a grave. However, Wren didn't think it was her embarrassment that had her heart thumping so rapidly and loud.

"I need to pull myself together." Wren said as she shook her head. "And make sure nothing improper like that ever happens again. I must refrain from such acts of indecency because they're not proper, and Oka-sama wanted me to be a proper lady."

Wren took a few more moments to calm herself before she stood up off the floor. She looked at herself in the mirror to see there was still the faintest pinkness to her cheeks. One of the downfalls of having such pale skin. Her hair was also a bit disheveled, so she quickly fixed that. Once the pinkness left her cheeks, she went up to the deck. She saw no one on the main deck, so she went to the one in the back to see they were all gathered there while looking at a bunch of ships with the Baroque Works logo on the front.

"Oh, we must be closer than I believed." Wren said.

Her crewmates jumped then turned their heads to see that Wren had finally joined them.

"Oh, hey, Wren!" Luffy said grinning.

"Luffy-sama." Wren greeted as she gave him a small smile in return.

"Wren, thank goodness you're here!" Usopp said. "We need to take those guys out, and you're one of the strongest here!"

He pointed towards the Baroque Works ships that were carrying a total of 200 men that must be the billions.

"Hmm, but why waste our time on them?" Wren said.

"Come on, they're not worth it." Zoro said grinning. "Don't bother."

Usopp looked at the two of them with wide eyes while wondering if they really weren't worried about all those enemy ships.

"They're both right." Sanji said as he sat on the railing. "We have to keep our eyes on the prize, or we might lose this all together. After all, eight against two hundred sucks."

"Is there something wrong with those odds?" Wren asked looking truly puzzled. "Don't misunderstand, I know it would be a bit time consuming to take them out. However, there aren't really that many of them."

"200 isn't many to you?!" Usopp and Nami demanded.

Wren blinked at them wondering what they were getting worked up about as Luffy laughed.

"No." Wren said.

"If you think we could win then what's your objection to fighting them now?!" Usopp asked.

"If we take them all out now before we reach Alabasta then Crocodile will know something is wrong much sooner." Wren exclaimed. "Which means he can start making his own preparations to stop us. Leaving those billions alone is actually more advantageous for us since it'll keep us more on the down low longer, which means we can most likely catch Crocodile by surprise."

Usopp guessed that made sense to him. It was still hard to swallow that Wren didn't think taking out 200 men was hard.

"Besides, I haven't had my tea yet, so I'm not really in the mood for fighting." Wren added.

"That's your problem?!" Nami and Usopp demanded.

* * *

Wren sat in between Sanji and Karoo on the deck of the ship as everyone was tying bandages on their arm. Apparently the presence Wren felt earlier was Bon Clay who is also known as Mr. 2, which is the partner of Ms. Halloween. Wren knew all about the man's powers since Ms. Halloween had given a report on all the officer agents and their powers as soon as she was made Mr. 2's partner.

"There you go, Sanji-san." Wren said as she finished tying the bandage around his arm.

"Thank-you, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he smiled at her.

He was glad to see she didn't feel awkward when around him due to earlier. It would have broken his heart if one of the lovely ladies on this ship felt too awkward to be around him. Sanji then picked up another bandage to put around Wren's arm.

"Just make sure and tie it tight." Zoro said as he was using his mouth to tie his bandage around his arm. "I don't want anyone fooled by the enemy's disguises."

Wren nodded her head in understanding as Sanji was tying the bandages tightly but not uncomfortably around her arm.

"What a good plan." Vivi said as she was helping Nami with her bandage.

"We'll always know who our friends are." Nami said. "Just look for the bandage on their arm."

As Sanji was making another knot in Wren's bandage, said woman smiled in amusement at Karoo who seemed be having trouble with his bandages.

"This Mane-Mane no Mi guy," Sanji began as she finished tying the bandage around Wren's arm. "So is he that similar when he turns into someone else?"

Sanji then let go of Wren's arm since she was ready to go, so Wren started working on getting Karoo untangled from all his bandages.

"You have no idea!" Usopp exclaimed. "It's the same not just similar. It was crazy, really! You should have seen it, Sanji, Wren. He changed into every one of us even Nami. And then we got to dance with him."

"I'm not really interested in dancing with a male ballerina." Sanji said.

However, he'd love to dance with a female one, or better yet dance with one of the lovely ladies on the ship. He looked at Wren as he was thinking this as she was still working on getting Karoo detangled. She had that amused smile still on her face, and he noted it was another one of her more genuine ones.

"We know that someone with his powers is among the enemy, so we need to really be on our guard at all times." Zoro said.

"There's something else you all need to be weary of." Wren spoke up as she looked away from Karoo for a moment. "If at any time you are taken into a marsh, don't follow the light. It will lead you off the safe path and into your doom."

The crew looked at Wren while some of them a bit spooked at how ominously she spoke.

"It's Ms. Halloween's powers." Wren said. "She makes you believe that you're off your path to begin with then lures you with lights and illusions to something extremely dangerous. And she's at a different level than the Baroque Work officer agents, so if you run into her, I suggest you trek carefully."

Usopp gulped wondering how terrifying this Ms. Halloween was. He sure didn't want to run into her. Chopper even if a bit frightened stepped up determinedly.

"So what should I do to help out against this guy?" He asked.

"Just do whatever it is you can do." Usopp said. "You're not expected to do anything more, Chopper. And if you get overwhelmed, just run."

Wren, who was putting a bandage around Karoo's wing, sweat-dropped as she wondered if that could be counted as a pep talk.

"Sounds like the pep talk he's always giving himself." Sanji said.

Karoo quacked lightly, and it almost sounded like a laugh, which had Wren biting her lip to keep from smiling in amusement.

"Whatever it is I can do." Chopper said. "I got it!"

A few minutes later, everyone had their bandages on, and were ready to reach Alabasta.

"Hey, I can see the island now!" Luffy called out.

Wren and the others looked towards Alabasta, and Wren knew that Ling was there waiting for her with information that might help them with Crocodile.

"Let's stop at the town called Nanohana." Vivi said. "We have to hide the ship."

That works out perfectly in Wren's favor since Ling told her to meet her in Nanohana.

"Okay, no matter what happens on that island remember," Luffy began then put out his fist with the others doing the same. "This thing on all our arms is a sign of our friendship. Now, let's land, okay? And eat…oh, and help Vivi."

"That's a side note?" Luffy's crewmates—besides Wren—asked with deadpanned looks on their faces.

Luffy just kept grinning as Wren bit back an amused chuckle. It seems as if food is the only thing that comes first in Luffy's mind. Wren then looked back towards Alabasta knowing she'd most likely have to deal with Doflamingo's first move there.

"Well, let's see what you have planned, Doflamingo." Wren said as she grinned.


	11. Reaching Nanohana! Finally in Alabasta!

Coco: I know Wren has mostly just interacted with Sanji in this story, but I promise you that after this chapter, you will see her interact more with the other Straw Hats. That way she can grow close to them as well.

* * *

Wren walked out of the door onto the deck after being in the woman's quarters. She had grabbed a straw sun hat along with a large scarf to wrap over the hat then under her chin. She also added sunglasses to place on her nose while keeping her right eye closed. Then she had a small messenger like bag with her as well with the strap going across her chest as the bag rested against her hip along with her sword. She saw that Usopp, Nami, Vivi, and Karoo were the only ones on the ship. She could tell Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper were next to the ship…but no Luffy. Should she be concerned?

"Wren, what are you doing?" Usopp asked. "Afraid to get some sun?"

"My face is more recognizable than all of yours." Wren explained. "Not only am I formerly part an infamous pirate crew, but my wanted poster was renewed just a few months ago."

Usopp made an "ah" sound of understanding as Wren made it to the side of the ship. She got up onto the railing then jumped down to land on the ground near Sanji, Zoro, and Chopper.

"Though I'll need another outfit if I plan to blend in with the locals." Wren said then glanced at her crewmates. "All of you as well."

"That makes sense." Zoro said as he scratched the back of his head. "Anyway we should get going. Vivi said she and Karoo can't come because they'd be easily noticed."

Wren nodded her head because that made sense. They'd be more recognizable here than Wren would be for sure, so it was safer for them to stay here. The crew then heard Karoo freaking out, which had them looking at the duck.

"What's wrong, Karoo?" Vivi asked.

The duck pointed his wing over towards a ship docked not far from theirs. Wren blinked at it while tilting her head. It certainly had an odd design…not that she really had room to talk considering she used to sail around often in a pirate ship with a flamingo theme.

"Mr. 3's ship!" Vivi exclaimed.

"I thought we took care of that creep for good already." Usopp said.

"Mr. 3 is the fellow you fought in Little Garden, yes?" Wren asked.

At least that's what she believed Zoro mentioned before when they were discussing the system of Baroque Work agents.

"That's right." Zoro said nodding. "He nearly turned some of us into wax statues."

Well, that didn't sound pleasant at all in Wren's book, but if she had to be turned into a wax statue, she'd make sure to have a good pose.

"I'm certain it's him." Vivi said. "That shop couldn't even run without Mr. 3's Doru-Doru powers."

"The bastard's here." Sanji said.

If he was on the ship, it'd be easy to deal with him quickly. However, Wren didn't sense anyone on that ship. Not one single person.

"This isn't good." Zoro said. "Cause he's seen most of our faces."

"Usopp's got a plan." Usopp said. "It's going to be alright."

* * *

Wren walked beside Sanji with Chopper, who was in his walk pointing, walking behind them. Next to them was a more than conspicuous moving tarp that had feet partially visible below. Wren shook her head wondering how this was a good plan.

"They could have just worn disguises like mine." Wren pointed out in a hushed tone.

Sanji lightly chuckled while agreeing with her silently. Wren could have sworn she heard Zoro curse underneath the tarp as if he just realized what Wren said was true. As they continued walking, many people turned to star, but Wren ignored them completely as if everything was normal. Once they made it to a place to stop and hide, Zoro, Nami, Vivi, and Karoo quickly shed the tarp. However, Usopp took a moment as he peeked around, but he soon shed the tarp as well.

"Hah, it's safe to come out, guys!" Usopp said as he grinned.

"Thanks, we figured that one out." Zoro said in an obvious tone.

Usopp just ignored the swordsman as he continued glancing around the place as if looking for something.

"Looked like my ingenious disguise worked like a charm." Usopp said proudly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure that's what it was." Nami said.

"We should have done like Wren, and just put hats and glasses on our heads and faces." Zoro said as he frowned.

Usopp ignored those comments as well as Wren took off her hat, scarf, and glasses. She then let down her hair, which she shook out a bit, so her bangs covered her right eye.

"Well then, it looks like you should be safe from prying eyes for a while, Vivi-chan." Sanji said as he smiled at the princess.

Vivi didn't seem to hear him however, which had Wren looking at the princess curiously. It was obvious that something was on her mind.

"Hello there." Sanji said when Vivi remained silent.

"Ah, yes!" Vivi exclaimed as she jumped. "Sanji, what were you saying?"

Wren's brow quirked in question towards the younger girl as the others looked at her as well.

"What is it, Vivi-chan?" Sanji asked. "Something wrong?"

"Sorry for that, but I'm just really relieved now." Vivi explained. "Nothing else. From what I've seen so far, I can at least see that this town is doing alright. I can't exactly be resting easy, but it's a good sign."

Vivi paused for a moment as she clutched the tarp tightly in her hands as if for comfort.

"It does seem like this is a real peaceful town." Nami said.

She said this to give some kind of reassurance to Vivi, but the bluenette still looked worried.

"Vivi, you said you had a plan to stop the rebel army, didn't you?" Zoro asked.

Vivi blinked then nodded her head to answer Zoro's question. Wren wanted to hear what this plan was, and she was certain no bloodshed was involved. Which was fine with her since she didn't come here to kill rebels. However, showing mercy to Crocodile and his men wasn't in the plan.

"Well, what are you gonna do?" Zoro asked. "What do we need to do to help? If you really want to stop this thing before it starts, it's better to act quickly."

"Well, I agree with that, but the only agreement I made was for you to being me here to Ala—!" Vivi was cut off when Nami bonked her head.

Wren tilted her head silently since she didn't know of this "agreement". She just knew what was going on here in this country, and she was under the assumption fighting Crocodile was the plan the entire time.

"Quit it." Nami said sternly. "Are you still thinking like that?"

"Nami." Vivi lightly whined.

She then lightly rubbed her head as if it hurt a bit where Nami had bonked her.

"We traveled this far together after all." Nami continued. "We're not going to run off and leave you now."

"Yeah, Vivi, come on." Usopp added. "You're practically one of us now."

Vivi looked at the two of them in surprise as she continued to hold her forehead, which did have a small red mark.

"And I want to see this Shichibukai." Zoro added.

"You didn't need to bring that up." Nami said as she glared at Zoro.

He didn't seemed faze by the glare though since he didn't even blink. Nami turned back to Vivi place placing her hand on top the younger girl's head.

"Now listen, we're not going to abandon you." Nami said.

"They're trying to kill us too." Sanji said. "Well, everyone except for me and the lovely Wren-chwan.~"

He gestured to Wren as the young woman had her hands clasped behind her back. She gave Vivi a smile as the bluenette looked as if she might protest.

"Besides, helping you take down Crocodile benefits me as well." Wren said as she continued smiling. "So if you're afraid of us getting hurt by helping you out of the goodness of our hearts, don't be. We're pirates first, Vivi-san, and we only do things if we wish to or if it benefits us in some way."

"She's got a point." Zoro said smirking.

Usopp and Sanji grinned in agreement as Nami smiled at Wren thinking it was nice Wren was trying to make Vivi feel less guilty.

"Too true." Nami said as her expression turned dark. "Besides, if this country gets destroyed then we'll be out a big reward for bringing you here in the first place, you understand?"

Wren blinked at that sudden change in demeanor as Vivi leaned away from Nami.

"Eh, yes." Vivi said nervously.

"Okay, good!" Nami said as she was back to smiling sweetly as if a switch was flipped.

"And people call me scary." Wren said.

She then pulled out her pocket watch to check the time. She still had time before she had to meet Ling, but she still needed to get a few things before then. As Wren was trying to calculate how much time she had to get the things she needed before she had to meet Ling, Nami and Zoro were discussing something about a debt. Vivi then explained where they needed to go, which meant they'd need supplies.

"Hmm, I should be going." Wren said, which got her companions' attention. "I am to meet my informant shortly, so I can get the latest information circulating around Alabasta and Crocodile."

"You were able to get a hold of your informant?" Vivi asked hopefully.

Wren nodded her head as she put her pocket watch back into her pocket with the gold chain going up to one of her vest buttons.

"Yes, she is meeting me at a restaurant in this town in an hour, but I still must find clothes that will help me blend in." Wren said. "While I am gone I will get the other supplies and clothes we need."

"I'll go with you, Wren-chwan!" Sanji said as he swayed back and worth. "All that supplies would be very heavy, and I couldn't allow you to carry all of it. In fact, I'll carry all of it for you!"

Wren sweat-dropped though supposed having someone to help carry the supplies would be good. However, she probably shouldn't take Sanji with her to meet Ling. Ling would probably blow a fuse if she had to deal with two pirates at once without getting to arrest them.

"But what about Mr. 3?" Vivi asked.

She was worried since he could be anywhere in town at the moment, which could spell trouble if he were to see any of them.

"Mr. 3 hasn't seen my face or Wren-chan's beautiful face." Sanji pointed out.

"Yeah, you two really haven't into many of the Baroque Works agents so far." Nami said smiling.

That mean Sanji and Wren could move freely in town. Well, Wren would probably have to be careful since she's a well-known pirate, but as long as she wears the hat and scarf it shouldn't be a problem.

"And there's someone else too." Zoro said as he looked down at Chopper.

Everyone turned towards Chopper while realizing the exact same thing as Zoro. The little guy has met Mr. 2. However, Chopper could change form, so he could tag along too.

"That's right! Chopper!" Nami said smiling even more.

As long as those three could move around without drawing attention, it should be easy to get what they needed.

"That'll be perfect." Sanji said. "We're going to have a lot to carry. That alright?"

"Yeah, I got it." Chopper said as he nodded his head in determination.

Wren smiled at Chopper when seeing he was ready to do whatever he needed to help.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Chopper said. "I want to do whatever I can to help out."

Chopper then transformed back into his walking point, which made him look like a normal reindeer. Granted normal reindeer don't wear shorts and a hat or carry a backpack, but still a reindeer.

"I should blend in like this, shouldn't I?" Chopper asked.

"Alright," Usopp said as he gave a thumbs up. "Now that's what I call a brave reindeer!"

Vivi thanked them for their help then brought out a list to show what they'd need in the desert.

"And like Wren-san said, we'll need clothes native to here to blend in." Vivi added.

Sanji nodded his head in understanding as he took Vivi's list to place inside his pocket.

"And perfume too." Nami added.

"Of course, Nami-chan~" Sanji said.

Wren sweat-dropped while sure that they didn't need perfume to cross a desert.

"And food and water." Zoro said.

Usopp asked for hot sauce, which confused Wren, but she decided not to ask why.

"Yes, yes." Wren said as she nodded. "We'll be sure to get all of that."

She then took Sanji by the arm to start leading him away, and he didn't resist one bit. In fact, he grinned in that love struck manner of his while fantasying that it was like he and Wren were on a date.

"Don't forget to keep an eye out for Luffy!" Nami called after them.

Wren, who let go of Sanji's arm, turned around to wave to let Nami know that she heard her before she continued towards town. As they were walking, Wren put the sunglasses, hat, and scarf back on, so to hide her face.

"We should get the clothes first, so that I can change." Wren said. "After that I will break off from you and Chopper."

"May I ask why, my dear?" Sanji asked.

"It's less conspicuous if I meet my informant alone." Wren explained.

Sanji nodded his head understanding that, but it worried him to leave Wren alone in an unfamiliar place. Anything could happen.

"Will you be okay, Wren?" Chopper asked. "On your own, I mean?"

Wren smiled down at Chopper as he was walking alongside she and Sanji through the market.

"Yes, I will be fine." Wren assured him. "I can take care of myself. Even without Banshī."

She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, which was resting on her hip in her holster.

"Banshī?" Chopper asked.

"It's the name of this cursed blade." Wren explained. "I won it off another pirate."

"Won it how?" Chopper asked.

"I took his life." Wren said as she smirked in an almost evil manner

Chopper gulped thinking Wren looked a little scary at the moment. He really hopes he never upset her.

"It wasn't suited for him to begin with." Wren said as her expression lightened. "He couldn't even make the blade scream as it's meant too. It's said that this blade was meant to be wielded by a person who can make its victims scream just as loudly as it can. So I suppose it's perfect for a person like me…a woman of horrors."

Wren honestly felt as if she had a connection with this blade as if it was a kindred spirit. She and the sword worked well together. It was like going into battles and fights with a friend than just using a tool to fight with.

"Now, shall we get everything we need?" Wren asked her companions as she smiled.

* * *

Wren looked around the market as Sanji and Chopper were a few feet behind her at a booth. She's noticed a few marines here and there, which meant Ling was probably close by as well. Wren smiled thinking it'd be nice to see Ling again. It's been nearly half a year since they have seen each other in person. Wren turned around to tell Sanji and Chopper they should probably hurry to find the clothes, but when she did turn around she saw Sanji was busy flirting with a young lady.

Wren didn't know why, but she felt a bit of annoyance bubble up within her when seeing Sanji flirting so shamelessly with some stranger. She walked up towards Sanji and the girl while pulling her sheathed blade out of her holster. Then without even hesitating she bonked Sanji over the head with her sheathed sword. It didn't seem as if she hit him hard, but Sanji was instantly crouching on the ground holding his head as a large bump formed there.

"Please, forgive him, Miss." Wren said to the young woman. "And I apologize if he bothered you."

"Uh, no, it's alright." The woman said though she did look a bit relieved. "Um, good day."

She dipped her head to Wren, and Wren copied the gesture to be polite before watching as the woman and her friend walked away. She then frowned down at Sanji as he blinked up at her.

"We are here for supplies and clothes, Sanji-san." Wren reminded him. "Please try not to get distracted."

"Yes, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he rubbed his head.

He didn't know why, but his head was killing him now. He knew Wren hit him, but the sword itself didn't hit him hard. It was like something else hit him as well when the sword came down to make the hit harder than it should have been. Wren put her sword back into the holster as she tried to push her annoyed feeling to the side. She then heard a groan, so she turned back to look at Chopper.

"Is something wrong, Chopper-chan?" Wren asked as she placed her hands on her knees to bend over to get closer to his level.

"The smell…it's becoming too much." Chopper said. "Too much perfume."

Wren wasn't surprised the smell of perfume was bothering him. The smell was pretty strong for her own nose, so it had to be worse for Chopper. The heat couldn't be helping him either.

"Why don't you find a place nearby to relax?" Wren asked. "Sanji-san and I can handle the shopping."

"A…alright." Chopper said nodding.

Wren pat him on top his hat then stood straight. She started walking through the market while right past Sanji who was quick to follow.

"Let's go, Sanji-san." Wren said.

"I'll follow you anywhere, my love!" Sanji said as hearts seemed to fly around him.

Wren tried not to sigh since she didn't want to sound rude or anything. They walked for a few more minutes before they came to part of the market where it seemed as if clothes were sold.

"We should go there looking for clothes, Wren-chwan~!" Sanji said suddenly as he pointed.

Wren followed the direction of his finger to see he was pointing at a clothes store that seemed to sell dancer outfits. Wren looked back at Sanji with a quirked brow as he looked at her hopefully.

"Dancer clothes aren't what we need in a desert." Wren said. "In fact, too much exposed skin in the desert can lead to bad sunburns…and I already burn so easily."

She frowned remembering the last time she tried to tan. She came out looking like a lobster. Dellinger, Baby 5, and Jora were helping put aloe on her skin for weeks until the burn went away. It had been awful. When she looked at Sanji once more she saw that he hadn't heard a word she said.

"You'd look so beautiful in a dancer's outfit." He said.

Wren did let out a sigh this time while supposing she'd just go along with what he wanted since he wasn't listening. She'll just buy some cloaks for her, Vivi, and Nami as she's heading back to them after her meeting with Ling.

"Alright." Wren said giving in.

Sanji quickly grabbed her hand to pull her into the shop, and she was already regretting her decision to let him do as he pleases.

* * *

Wren looked down at the cloths she was in now with a small frown on her face. These clothes definitely weren't her style. The shirt was a pale green halter top that revealed a tattoo on her back. She then had on transparent yellow sleeves that were unattached from the main shirt that flowed down to her wrist. Her skirt was similar to the one Sanji bought Nami, but the colors were yellow for the accent pieces and pale green for the skirt as a whole. Also there was a large slit up the left side that revealed another tattoo on her thigh. Finally on her feet were simple sandals.

"Wren-chan, you are a vision in that outfit." Sanji said then blinked when he noticed the tattoo on her back as she did a small spin in front of the store's mirror as if to see her entire outfit.

The tattoo was a large elegant black outline of a heart that had two swirls where it met at the top. Then the bottom right point swirled out with small swirls going along the left side while not touching the heart. In the center of the heart it read "Corazon" in cursive. The tattoo nearly took up all her back. As she turned again, he caught sight of the one on her thigh. It looked like a Jolly Roger, but unlike the one for the Straw Hats, this Jolly Roger was just one circle with a grinning face and two large black eyes then a small dot for the nose.

"I didn't know you had tattoos, Wren-chan." Sanji said. "You just don't seem like the type."

Wren paused in checking out her outfit to look at Sanji as he was taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing, but I decided to get the tattoos a few months back actually." Wren said. "After I saw an image of…my Niisan in the newspaper. I've always looked up to him. He's like the coolest big brother in the world in my eyes…and even if it might seem silly, I decided I wanted to get tattoos as well…as if I thought it'd make me as cool as him."

Wren let out a sheepish chuckle as if she was a bit embarrassed to admit this. Sanji just grinned, however, while glad that Wren was sharing something personal with him like this.

"I made sure the tattoos were meaningful though." Wren added. "If I was going to have my body marked permanently, I wanted what was on my body to mean something."

"May I ask what they mean?" Sanji asked.

He didn't want to pry too much and be nosy, but he couldn't deny that he was curious. Wren bit her lip as if contemplating if she felt comfortable enough to tell him.

"I suppose I can tell you." Wren said. "Raelin did tell you much of my past already, so I suppose it can't hurt. The man…the man that died eleven years ago…his name was Corazon."

Sanji's eyes widened while remembering that Raelin did mention that Doflamingo had killed someone important to Wren eleven years ago.

"He was a very kind man who took care of me and my Niisan. He loved us very much, so I had his name tattooed onto my back…" Wren said as she placed her hand on her should. "And Corazon means heart, so I believe the hearts are fitting."

Of course she knew that Corazon really wasn't his name. She knew that his real name had been Rosinante since he had told her once.

"Then the one of my thigh is for Corazon as well." She said. "He used to grin this ridiculously funny grin at Law and I all the time. I think he was just trying to make us happy, and his grins did make me happy. So I added the tattoo on my thigh as a remembrance to that grin."

That and it was similar to Law's Jolly Roger. Though that being said it was also similar to the Doflamingo Pirate Crew's Jolly Roger. But she didn't think of Doflamingo and the others when seeing that tattoo. She just thought of Corazon and Law.

"He must have meant a lot to you." Sanji said.

"He and Niisan became the most important people to me in the entire world." Wren said as her face turned a bit crestfallen. "And I lost them both on the same day."

Sanji looked at Wren in concern when seeing the downturn in her mood. He started regretting asking about the tattoos.

"But Niisan is still out there alive." Wren said. "And I will see him again…Even if I have to track him down to the ends of the earth I'll find him."

Wren then seemed to snap out of her thoughts as Sanji placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you will." He said smiling as she looked at him. "And I'm sure he wants to see you again too."

Wren sure hoped so. She did make him wait for eleven years for her. How lonely could he have been until he found a crew to be his nakama? Wren mentally shook herself knowing she had to push those thoughts to the side.

"Thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said dipping her head to him. "I should probably meet my informant now."

"And you're sure you'll be alright on your own?" Sanji asked.

Wren gave Sanji a smile, and even if it was the tiniest bit forced, he could tell it was to give him some reassurance.

"Positive." Wren said. "I have been doing this kind of thing for a while after all."

Wren then held out her belt holster, which was still holding her sword to Sanji. He looked at her in confusion though he did take her sword.

"Any marine that could be running around might be able to identify me because of my sword." Wren explained. "Besides, it would be odd for a dancer girl to be carrying a sword, would it not?"

"But what if something bad happens?" Sanji asked looking worried.

"Then I will use my devil fruit powers." Wren said not looking concerned at all. "Don't worry so much, Sanji-san. I'll be fine."

Sanji silently nodded his head even if he was still a bit concerned. Wren then put the bag back around her shoulder securely.

"I'll see you all soon." Wren said. "I promise."

* * *

Wren walked down the streets of Nanohana with her hair down, which covered the tattoo on her back partially. She also had her bangs covering her right eye since her eyepatch would stand out. She had also bought a veil to cover the bottom half of her face. So far no one has paid her any attention, which is exactly what she wants. Wren had five more minutes until she had to meet Ling, and knowing Ling she was already at this restaurant. Speaking of the restaurant, it seems as if Wren has found it. Wren walked towards the restaurant while keeping an eye out for any marines. She saw none, so she stepped into the restaurant. She glanced around the place, and since it wasn't too big, she quickly spotted who she was looking for.

"Ling." Wren said as she approached the woman sitting at the bar.

The woman turned at the sound of her name to look at Wren. And as the younger woman approached her, Ling stood up onto her feet. The woman stood taller than Wren and had deeply tanned skin that looked smooth to the touch. Her eyes were a dark green, and framed by thick eyelashes. Then she had delicate facial features that gave her an aristocratic look. She had a curvy figure though it was toned as well from all her years working as a marine. She had raven black hair that was put into a bun on the top right side of her head. Her bun was woven to resemble a flower, and she had a butterfly hair pin holding the bun together, so it appeared as if a butterfly had landed on a beautiful black flower.

She wore a blue sleeveless short cheongsam, and there were white accents and flower designs on it. Wrapped around the middle of the cheongsam was a black sash. Over the cheongsam was a white cropped jacket that stopped below her breasts, and had blue trim. On the back of the jacket was the word "justice" in Chinese characters. She had the jacket left open, and its sleeves, which were loose and flowy went down to nearly touch her fingertips. She then wore thigh-high black stockings, and on her feet were black ballet slippers. Hooked to her back by a simple string that went across her chest diagonally was a pipa.

"It's good to see you again, my friend." Wren said sincerely as she smiled.

"I can't say the same." Ling said as she placed her hands on her hips while looking Wren up and down. "What are you wearing?"

Wren sighed thinking it'd take too much time to explain that a perverted cook wanted her to wear this.

"It's a long story on how I ended up wearing this." Wren said. "Now shall we discuss business?"

Ling frowned though did nod her head. The sooner she finished speaking with Wren the sooner she could get back to Smoker and the others before they realized she was nowhere to be found. Besides, the less time spent with a pirate the better in her opinion.

"Let's get this over with." Ling said.

She took a seat at the bar with Wren, who had an amused smile on her face, taking the empty seat beside her.

"We've known each other for three years now, and you still don't like to be around me." Wren said as she chuckled. "If I remember correctly, I even helped you take out a group of pirates when we first met."

Ling frowned remembering that day quite vividly, and a part of her wished it had never happened.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Ling let out a huff as she dodged another pirate's attack. She then whirled around with her butterfly swords to cut down the offending pirate. She looked around her to see there were still many pirates to go, and her fellow marines were being overwhelmed._

 _"_ _Damn, they just keep coming." Ling growled._

 _Her instincts then warned her something was coming at her from behind, so she flipped out of the way. She landed on the ground while skidding back at bit, but she kept her footing. She looked forward seeing the pirates' captain was the one to attack her._

 _"_ _What do you think you and your pals are going to my subordinates?" He demanded._

 _"_ _Exterminating them." Ling said. "As they should be, and you're next!"_

 _Ling rushed forward to attack the pirate captain. However, he suddenly cried out as blood spurt from his back. Ling paused with confusion coloring her face. Who had attacked the captain? She received her answer when the captain fell forward to reveal a girl who looked to be sixteen. Ling immediately recognized her as the Princess of Horrors from the Shichibukai Doflamingo's crew._

 _"_ _Saturn Wren, what are you doing here?" Ling asked frowning._

 _"_ _It was an order from my captain that I give you all a hand." Wren said then glanced behind her._

 _Ling looked past Wren seeing Donquixote Doflamingo's ship not far from them. Ling glared at the ship as if trying to make it combust with a single look. Ling hated the Shichibukai. She hated that the government started the Shichibukai program because no pirate should be pardoned of their crimes in her opinion._

 _"_ _Apparently he couldn't watch all of you continue to be overwhelmed, and took pity on all of you." Wren said bluntly. "I suppose it is your lucky day then, hmm?"_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Wren then had ended the fighting between the marines and pirates with just a look from her right eye, which allows her to see into others to find what they fear most. Honestly, if Wren hadn't stepped in, Ling might have died, so Ling felt as if she owed the Nightmare Witch, which had Ling's stomaching churning back then. When Ling mentioned being indebted to Wren, the young girl just smirked while saying she'd keep that in mind.

Not even a year after that Wren came to collect, and asked Ling to help her get information from the marines and government on anything that concerned Doflamingo. Ling decided to continue helping Wren when hearing that Wren planned to take down Doflamingo. In Ling's mind, one less Shichibukai was a good thing. Especially Doflamingo. That man was obviously the personification of evil.

"As far as I'm concerned, I repaid my debt for back then." Ling said then motioned for the chef to get her another round of alcohol. "The only reason I'm still here is because I want to see that pink feather wearing bastard fall."

Wren nodded knowing that was true. The two women then went silent as another beer was brought to Ling since they didn't wish to be overheard. Once he was gone, Wren took her bag off of her shoulder to place on the counter and push towards Ling. Said woman regarded the bag cautiously as if she expected it to explode.

"And what is inside?" Ling asked with a quirked brow.

"A way to move you up the ranks quickly." Wren said as she smirked. "And the higher you go the more classified information you will be allowed to get your hands on, so to give to me."

Ling frowned while thinking that smirk of Wren's was more than just a bit unsettling.

"It's the Mozō-Mozō no Mi." Wren added in a hushed tone.

Ling's eyes widened in shock. She then wondered how Wren managed to get her hands on such a powerful devil fruit. The marines have spent years looking for the Mozō-Mozō no Mi, so to keep it out of the hands of pirates. And now here is a pirate handing it over to a marine. Ling then gave Wren a suspicious look as she overcame her shock.

"You want me to eat this thing?" Ling asked.

"Why of course." Wren said as she continued to smirk. "Doflamingo is always strengthening his ranks with people who already possess powerful devil fruit, or he's giving powerful devil fruit to a member of the crew. Why can't I do the same?"

Ling frown's deepened since she didn't want to really consider herself a member of Wren's "ranks".

"Why not give it to Lefaye Raelin?" Ling asked.

"Raelin already ate the Yoroi-Yoroi no Mi." Wren pointed out. "And before you ask the others all have their own devil fruit abilities, or I already sent them devil fruits to consume if they wish. I don't want to force this power on them or you, Ling. However, just think of the benefits you could have by eating this fruit."

Ling's brow quirked in question. She knew eating a devil fruit could make her more powerful, but there were also plenty people in the world who are strong without the need of a devil fruit.

"The marines will definitely take an interest in you once they learn of your new power." Wren said. "They'd practically be throwing promotions at you, and you getting promoted wouldn't just benefit me. The higher you are in ranks mean you'll get to make more important calls. Calls you've been wanting to make since the first day you joined the marines. You'll have more opportunities to go by your sense justice than the absolute justice the higher ups try to force on you and the other lower ranked marines."

Ling sighed knowing Wren had a point, but agreeing to eat that fruit felt as if she'd be making a deal with the devil. And Wren could very much be described as one. That smirk on her face wasn't making Ling feel any more comfortable about this either. Besides, Ling didn't want promotions thrown at her just because of a devil fruit she ate. She'd rather work hard to climb the ranks...however, that could take forever...and they didn't have the time to wait for Ling to get promoted high enough to get the good information. Ling shook her head while still feeling uneasy.

"You're just trying to manipulate me like a pawn piece." Ling said. "Just giving this to me for your benefit."

"Well, I am a pirate." Wren said. "I won't pretend I'm anything else, and I won't lie…I'll do anything I can to see my plans succeed. It doesn't matter who I must use, or if I die in the end. As long as Doflamingo and everything he's built falls, I'll pay any price or do any deed without hesitation. That's the kind of person I've become, and even if I hate what I've become, I won't falter in my decision."

Ling looked at Wren closely seeing how serious the younger woman was about the path she has chosen. Ling sighed then took a swig from her beer.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but fine." Ling said. "I'll do what you say because I have even more of a reason to want Doflamingo to fall now."

Wren glanced at Ling as the older woman finished off the rest of her beer with ease.

"I have gotten word from my homeland that a war is brewing between my homeland's kingdom and the kingdom of a neighboring country." Ling said. "The word is that Doflamingo is supplying weapons to the other side. I don't want to think what might happen to my brothers and grandfather if the war does break out and they are out gunned. The sooner Doflamingo is finished off the better."

Wren nodded her head understanding as Ling took the bag to put over her shoulder.

"I better go." Ling said as she stood.

She took out some beries to pay for her drinks to place on the counter next to her empty mug.

"But before I go, here." Ling said as she pulled out a rolled up message from her pocket.

She held it out to Wren, who took it subtlety, so no one would notice the exchange. It wasn't like anyone was paying attention to them, but better safe than sorry.

"That's all I could get for you." Ling said as she headed for the backdoor. "Hope it helps."

"I'm sure it will." Wren said. "Thank-you, Ling."

Ling didn't reply as she left out the backdoor, so not to run into anyone she might now out on the street. Wren got up from the stool she had been sitting on, so to return to the others. However, as she was leaving someone with a familiar face walked into the restaurant. Her visible eye narrowed when seeing that freckle-faced grinning fool who she wasn't too pleased in seeing. He seemed to see her as well, which mean she couldn't duck out of there.

"Wren?" He asked. "That you?"

He stepped closer to her while dipping his head down, so to get a better look at her face.

"Heh, it is you!" He said as he straightened back up.

"Portgas D. Ace." Wren said as she frowned then spoke once more in a sarcastic tone, "What a pleasure it is to see you again."


	12. Portgas D Ace

Wren stood in front of Portgas D. Ace as the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates grinned at her.

"Gees, don't sound so upset." Ace said as he chuckled. "You still sore about what happened back when we first met each other?"

Wren's glare told him that was a definite yes, which had him chuckling once more. He had a feeling she'd never forgive him unless he made up for what he had done.

"Well, what are you doing in Alabasta?" Ace asked.

"That's my business." Wren said immediately.

"I see you're going to be friendly." Ace said sarcastically though he kept his tone light to show he was teasing.

Wren didn't see why she had to be nice to him considering how great of an offense he committed on their first meeting. For those of you who might be confused, let's go back to the day that Saturn Wren and Portgas D. Ace first met.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren stood in front of the legendary Whitebeard with Raelin flanking her left. Behind the two of them were three of Wren's other subordinates, and they were hiding behind the two women as if too afraid to look directly at Whitebeard._

 _"_ _What brings you to my ship, brats of Doflamingo?" Whitebeard asked._

 _He then gulped down large amounts of sake as his division commanders sat or stood around their captain._

 _"_ _I merely wished to the see the Strongest Man In the World in person." Wren said simply. "It was just a coincidence that my ship happened to come upon your own as I was heading back home from a…_ _ **business transaction**_ _, and it seemed like a waste to just keep sailing. However, I suppose you could say I am only here to quell my curiosity."_

 _"_ _Quell your curiosity, eh?" Whitebeard asked._

 _Wren nodded her head as she kept looking calmly at the Yonko before her. Raelin was just as calm at her side while the three buffoons behind them continued to shake._

 _"_ _I've heard quite a bit about you, of course." Wren said. "But hearing about your adventures from you would make them more real. So I wish for you to tell me about your adventures."_

 _She said this quite bluntly without even batting an eyelash while her three subordinates gaped at her. The tone she used made it sound as if she was ordering Whitebeard to tell her what she wished to know. It was silent for a long moment before Whitebeard and some of his division commanders started laughing._

 _"_ _Gurararara, you're a blunt brat." Whitebeard said as he continued to laugh. "Why should I indulge you_ _?"_

 _Wren snapped her fingers, so Raelin brought forth a large gourd of sake that was taller than her, and about as wide as three of her put together. She easily lifted it up to show Whitebeard as if it weighed nothing before placing it down beside her with a loud thud._

 _"_ _I brought sake from the Wano Country, which is said to have some of the best sake in the world." Wren said simply. "And there is more on my ship for your men to enjoy as well. I will also have Raelin, who is a fine chef, cook enough food to feed you and your men. All you have to do in return is tell me a few stories."_

 _Some of the commanders grinned at the aspect of a party with good drink and food. Whitebeard grinned down at Wren as she looked at him expectantly._

 _"_ _Very well." Whitebeard said then addressed his men, "Tonight we feast!"_

 _They all cheered loudly as the three subordinates fainted on the spot in shock that the great Whitebeard agreed to Wren's wishes._

—break—

 _Wren sat at a small table that had her favorite tea set laid out as she was sipping tea and enjoying tea cakes. Around her the Whitebeard Crew was dancing around merrily and just celebrating as they drank and ate. Raelin was sitting not far from her while having a drinking contest with the first, third, and fourth division commanders—Marco the Phoenix, Jozu, and Thatch. Even Wren's other subordinates, who were nervous earlier, were dancing around with some of the Whitebeard Pirates. Wren smiled at the fun and lively atmosphere then set her teacup down onto her table._

 _"_ _You're not going to join in on the fun?"_

 _Wren, who had sensed his presence before he spoke, glanced at the second division commander known as Portgas D. Ace. He was leaning against the second chair at Wren's table with a grin on his face._

 _"_ _I'm not one for being rowdy." Wren said as she crossed one leg over the other. "I prefer to watch others enjoy themselves."_

 _Ace nodded his head then looked at his crewmates as they enjoyed themselves, which had his grin widening. Ace was about to speak again, but suddenly a snore left him instead as he tipped forward. Wren's eyes widened partially as he slammed into her table, which broke it and sent her tea set either crashing to the deck or up into the air to crash onto the deck seconds later. Everything went silent as everyone looked over at the scene of Ace sleeping on top of the broken table and tea set._

 _"_ _Gees, he did it again." Thatch said as he chuckled._

 _He then heard Raelin chuckle before she took another gulp from her grog. He also took note that the three other subordinates, whose names were Don, Reggie, and Winston he believes, looking positively horrified._

 _"_ _What is it?" Thatch asked._

 _"_ _You're about to lose your second division commander." Raelin said grinning as she held her mug away from her face. "No one lives after breaking one of Wren-sama's tea sets."_

 _As soon as she said that, everyone watched as Wren slowly stood up from her chair with her bangs shadowing her face to make it impossible to read her expression. A dark aura engulfed her as she glared down at the peacefully sleeping figure of Ace. She drew her sword, which had some of the commanders stiffening, but Whitebeard motioned for them to stay back since he wanted to see what would happen._

 _"_ _First you break my most favorite tea set, and now you have the gall to sleep as if nothing happened." Wren said as her eyebrow twitched. "I will not allow it, so wake up!"_

 _She kicked Ace hard in the side, and it was enough to send him flying through the air to smash into the railing on the ship. He was instantly awake as he blinked rapidly in confusion._

 _"_ _What the…?" He murmured. "What's going on? Why is it so—?!"_

 _He cut himself off when feeling the dark aura in front of him. He looked up to see Wren glaring at him murderously as she pointed her sword at his throat._

 _"_ _I can forgive a lot of things." Wren said. "However, ruining teatime and destroying my favorite tea set isn't something I can simply look over. Now, on your feet. Die with dignity."_

 _Ace gulped actually feeling fearful for his life as Wren raised her sword looking ready to strike. However, she was jumped from behind by Don, Reggie, and Winston to pull her back before she could deliver a killing blow._

 _"_ _Wren-sama, please don't!" Winston begged._

 _"_ _Yeah, Wren-sama, you don't want to anger Whitebeard!" Don added._

 _"_ _And it'd cause trouble for Doflamingo-sama!" Reggie made sure to point out._

 _Wren just pulled against them while nearly breaking free, so they held onto her more tightly as Ace continued to sit on the deck with wide eyes._

 _"_ _I don't care about any of that!" Wren declared. "A broken tea set is more than enough to go into war over! Now release me!"_

 _"_ _No!" The three men cried._

 _As the struggle continued, Raelin picked up her grog to finish it all in one gulp. Her cheeks were a bit flushed, and she grinned while holding up her cup._

 _"_ _If you want to start a brawl, Wren-sama, I will join you!" Raelin said as she laughed. "We shall fight for glory!"_

 _"_ _Not you too, Raelin-sama!" The three men sobbed._

 _The chaos continued, and some of Whitebeard's men started laughing loudly while becoming rowdy again. Marco grinned as Ace apologized to the angered Wren who wouldn't accept his apology until she had his head. Whitebeard let out a loud laugh as the exciting atmosphere continued on._

 _"_ _Such a lively brat, isn't she? Gurarara!" He laughed then took a large gulp of sake._

 _"_ _Stand still, so that I may I have your head. Don't run away, Fire Fist!" Wren, who broke free from her subordinates, ordered as Ace got up to make a run for it._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

"Are you ever going to forgive me for breaking that tea set?" He asked.

"When you find me a replacement for it, I might consider it." Wren said. "Until then there is no chance of that happening."

Ace chuckled though wasn't all that surprised. He learned pretty quick how serious Wren took teatime and how much she had loved that tea set he had accidently broken.

"Okay then." He said. "Then how about I buy you an Alabasta tea set? I'm sure you don't have one of those in your collection."

"Actually, I don't have a collection anymore." Wren said. "I don't think Doflamingo would just allow me to come get it then go about my merry way."

Ace lightly frowned at the mention of Doflamingo since he didn't like that man. He didn't know exactly what that man did to Wren, but he knew the Shichibukai has caused a lot of grief to the young woman.

"Right, I heard about you leaving his crew." Ace said then grinned once more. "Want to come join the Whitebeard Pirates? I'm sure Oyaji* would love to have you on board."

"I must decline." Wren said. "I have already joined a new crew. A rookie crew."

Ace's brow quirked curiously since that didn't sound like something Wren would do. Why'd she join a bunch rookies?

"It's a long story." Wren said when seeing his look. "Now speaking of my crew, I must return to them."

She was about to leave, but Ace caught her arm gently, which instantly had her wishing she had her sword to cut him with. However, she settled with breaking out of his hold, and pinching his cheek harshly.

"It is improper to grab a young woman, Ace-san." Wren said as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Were you not taught any manners?"

Ace just chuckled not even trying to pull away from her hold. He was used to how she acted. She'd grabbed his cheek or nose to pinch in punishment if he did something that displeased her, which he's done often.

"Come on, let me buy you lunch for old time's sake." Ace said. "I need to get you that tea set anyway, so after we eat here, on the way back to this new crew of yours, I can get you one. I want to meet these rookies that managed to get Saturn Wren the Princess of Horrors onto their crew."

Wren frowned not sure that was a good idea. Besides, she needed to get back to the others. She then gave Ace a deadpanned expression as something occurred to her.

"Do you even have any money to pay for food?" Wren asked.

* * *

Wren sighed as she watched Ace stuff his face full of rice and meat as he was eating his umpteenth dish. She was going to go broke because of him. Why was she even still here? And why did she say she'd pay for this idiot beside her?

"Thanks for this, Wren." Ace said. "I was starving."

"You're welcome." Wren said then she sighed again when seeing how messy his face was. "You need to wipe your face."

He nodded his head then wiped his face with the back of his hand, which had Wren frowning at him. He's like a barbarian.

"I meant with a napkin!" She snapped.

She then took a deep breath knowing she couldn't let him make her lose her cool. A lady wasn't meant to raise her voice. Especially in public.

"Oh, right." He said chuckling.

He grinned at her while amused by the glare she was sending him, which was practically telling him to drop dead.

"So you two traveling together?" The chef asked as he set more food in front of Ace.

"No." Wren replied. "I unfortunately ran into this man while here with my own business to deal with. Actually, I have no idea what this man is doing here."

The chef sweat-dropped at how hostile Wren seemed towards Ace who wasn't even bothered by her tone.

"Oh, yeah, I actually came here to speak with you, sir." Ace said. "I'm looking for someone, and an elderly down the street said you know about everyone. I—!"

Ace was about to say more when he suddenly slumped forward with his face falling into his food. His hand that was holding his fork was still up in the air with a piece of meat hanging from it. As the other patrons and the chef started freaking out, Wren's eyebrow twitched. And here they go again. Ace did this everything they see each other. He falls asleep randomly, which leads to some kind of headache for her. Why does she even put up with him?

"Fool." She murmured.

She then heard others murmuring frantically about Ace keeling over so suddenly, and that it must be the work of a type of spider known as the Desert Strawberry. People, who were backing away from the second division commander, were starting to think he was really dead.

"Miss, you should back away from him." One man whispered. "If you don't, you might suffer the same fate as your friend."

"I highly doubt that." Wren said as she poked Ace's head. "I swear, this man is nothing but trouble. Why do I even put up with him? I should just ditch him while I have the chance."

The patrons were looking at her with wide eyes because she dared to get near someone who died due to a Desert Strawberry, and because of how heartless she sounded. Didn't she care her friend died?

"Ace-san." Wren said as she poked him again. "Wake up already. I don't have the time nor the patience to deal with your horrible habit of falling asleep randomly."

"A…sleep?" The chef murmured.

Wren was about to shove Ace clear out of his seat, but he shot up while gasping as he woke. Wren grimaced when seeing that his face was covered in his food. Everyone gasped in surprised when seeing he was awake.

"He came back to life!" Someone shouted.

Ace just blinked blurry-eyed while looking like someone who just woke up from a long night's sleep. He looked left and right seeming confused by everyone's stares. It was silent for a moment as the patrons and chef looked cautiously at Ace. Finally a young woman stepped up to him.

"Um," She began uneasily. "Are you alright?"

She then let out a scream as Ace lifted her skirt, so to wipe his face, which had Wren bonking him on the head.

"How much more rude can you get?" She demanded with a frown as that young woman ran off.

Ace just blinked as he turned back to face the bar counter to resume where he left off eating, which meant stuffing that piece of meat in this mouth.

"Sorry about that." He said as he chew around the meat. "Fell asleep."

"You were asleep?!" All the patrons demanded at once.

Ace just put more food into his mouth while ignoring everyone's weirded out expressions.

"That doesn't make any sense!" One man said. "You were right in the middle of a conversation!"

"And now you're just eating like nothing happened?!" His companion demanded.

Ace frowned at them thinking they were acting rather odd as Wren shook her head.

"Gees, what's all the commotion about anyway?" Ace asked as he glanced at the three men behind him and Wren.

"We had thought you dropped dead! Are you crazy?!" The three men yelled.

Ace ignored their question as he looked back to the chef with a confused expression. He then gestured to the three men with his thumb as he continued to eat.

"Does this restaurant of yours do comedy skits or something?" Ace asked.

"No, that isn't our thing." The chef said as he grinned uncertainly. "Not here. We're just all glad you're okay."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ace fell asleep again with his face falling into his lunch.

"Dammit! Cut it out!" The chef snapped along with those three men.

Some people started to leave the restaurant out of annoyance, which Wren didn't blame them for. Wren sighed while sliding off her stood. She pulled out more beri than was probably needed for Ace's meal to pay the chef with.

"This should cover everything." She said as she handed the cash to the man. "I'm sorry for his behavior."

She then bonked Ace on the head to wake him up again, and he did with a start. He sputtered a second later when Wren threw a napkin in his face.

"Clean your face." Wren said as she placed her hands on her hips.

Ace did as he was told then looked at Wren to notice that she seemed ready to leave.

"We leaving already?" Ace asked.

"Actually," Wren began while intent on telling him she was returning to her crew alone. "I—!"

"You both have some nerve eating in a public place like this."

Wren frowned as she recognized that voice. She turned her head seeing Ling's superior White Chase Smoker standing in the doorway of the restaurant. Wren hasn't personally spoken to Smoker before, but she's seen him a time or two from a distance. And listened in on a few conversation he's had with Ling and other marines, so she knew his voice.

"Even for a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and a former Executive of the Donquixote Family and Pirate Crew." Smoker continued. "Hello, Portgas D. Ace, Saturn Wren."

Some of the people in the restaurant started to freak out when hearing Ace and Wren's name. Wren just sighed since she was trying to stay on the down low. Now she'd have to deal with a marine captain.

"I blame you for this." Wren said calmly. "You draw too much attention to yourself."

Ace just chuckled as he took another drink from the mug in front of him. He acted as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Huh, no way!" The chef said. "Not the Whitebeard Pirates and the Donquixote Pirates."

People murmured quickly in fright while staring at Wren and Ace with wide eyes.

"I'm curious, what are two big shots pirates from opposite crews doing in this country?" Smoker asked. "Are you planning something with Whitebeard, Saturn Wren? Did you really leave the Donquixote Pirates, or does Doflamingo have something planned?"

"My, my, so many questions." Wren said. "All of which, I don't have to answer. However, I will tell you that I have no business with Whitebeard. Does that ease your mind, _Captain Smoker_?"

Smoker narrowed his eyes at Wren who had an almost taunting smirk on her face. Though she was smirking on the outside she didn't want to fight Smoker. Ling wouldn't talk to her for months if she learns that Wren did anything to her boy toy.

"Then why are you here with Portgas D. Ace?" Smoker asked.

"I'm looking for someone." Ace answered instead of Wren. "And happened to run into Wren."

He then finally turned around in his seat to look at Smoker in a relaxed manner as if nothing was wrong. As he placed his hand on his hat, he grinned at Smoker.

"My little brother." Ace continued.

Wren vaguely remembers Ace mentioning a brother to her before, but she can't remember the boy's name. It went silent with a tense atmosphere falling around the restaurant.

"So what do you want from us now, Captain?" Ace asked.

"And can you make this business quick?" Wren added. "I'm a busy woman after all."

She knew the others were probably wondering where she was at the moment, and she needed to deal with this problem quickly, so she could return to them.

"I'd just like you both to come with me quietly." Smoker said.

"No, thanks." Ace said. "I think I'll pass, and as Wren said she's very busy, so I doubt she has time to waste coming with you."

"For once I agree with you, Ace-san." Wren said as her smirk widened an inch.

She then placed her hands on her hips while feeling a bit naked without her sword. However, she knew she could handle herself without it. She still had her martial arts and devil fruit abilities at her disposal. Oh and her haki, of course.

"Yeah, I figured you both would say something like that." Smoker said while not looking perturbed in the slightest before giving a small sigh. "I'm here in Alabasta trying to hunt down another pirate at the moment. To be honest I have no real interest in capturing either of you right now."

Wren narrowed her eyes at Smoker while knowing he was talking about Luffy. However, she didn't mention this out loud.

"Then look the other way." Ace said as he shrugged nonchalantly.

He then glanced subtlety at Wren as he noticed that she was unarmed, which made him wonder where her sword was. He's never seen her without it. Though he was sure she could handle herself without, he'd be sure to engage Smoker first.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Portgas D. Ace." Smoker said as he clenched his fist, which started to smoke. "Not as long as I'm a marine and you're part of a notorious pirate crew. As for Saturn Wren, all marines have strict orders to bring her in alive at all costs, so that she may be returned to the Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo."

Ace held back a frown as he kept his relaxing position as he was leaning against the bar counter. Wren just glared at Smoker since anyone trying to take her back to Doflamingo was at the top of her get rid of list. However, she couldn't kill this man since he was of importance to one of her comrades. Which means she can't even maim him just a little.

"Those aren't much of reasons, now are they?" Ace asked as his body language seemed to change. "How about I give you one?"

However, before the two men could fight, Wren stepped in front of Ace with a deadly look in her visible eye.

"A fight between the two of you would take too long." Wren said. "I don't have that kind of time, so I will handle him."

Ace knew Wren had her haki to deal with logia users since she's landed hits on him during a few of the sparing matches they've got in. He was kind of curious to see her use her haki on someone else.

"Saturn Wren, why not just give yourself up?" Smoker asked. "Return to Donquixote Doflamingo where you won't be hunted down by marines and bounty hunters alike?"

"I have no intention of returning to Donquixote Doflamingo to rejoin his crew." Wren said. "I would say I'd die first, but I have things I must do before falling into that eternal slumber. Now do you really want to get in my way, Captain Smoker?"

Smoker didn't even bat an eyelash at Wren's obviously threatening tone in her voice. Wren was about to strike out first, but paused when hearing a voice that sounded vaguely familiar yelling something. And the yelling was getting louder. Suddenly something or rather someone hit Smoker in the back hard, which sent him flying forward. He shouted in shock as he was flying right towards Wren and Ace, which had their eyes widening. Smoker hit them so hard they went flying through multiple buildings and crashing through walls.

When they finally stopped flying, Wren laid in the rubble with Ace right on top of her. Her eyebrow twitched while feeling completely humiliated. How could this have happened to her? Once she gets her hands on whoever put her in this embarrassing position, she'll skin him or her alive without mercy. Ace groaned as he got up off Wren, which moved the rubble off of them as well.

"Dammit." He cursed. "So what the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but would you please move?" Wren asked irritably.

Ace looked down when hearing her voice, and his eyes widened when seeing he had Wren squished underneath him.

"Crap." He said as he got up. "Sorry, Wren."

He helped her off the ground, and she dusted herself off while trying to pretend none of that happened.

"You okay?" Ace asked.

"Yes…I just need a moment." Wren said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Ace nodded in understanding then started heading back towards the restaurant to beat the shit out of whoever caused this entire mess. Wren let out a barely controlled breath as her head pulsated in pain. Today was just not her day. She hasn't felt so humiliated like she does now in a long time. She can't believe she let herself get blindsided like that. She didn't train hard for years to so easily get sent flying. Wren took a deep breath as she controlled a bit of her anger. However, she already felt it rising once more when she heard a commotion coming from the restaurant.

"I have no idea what's going on." She said as she started heading back to the restaurant. "But I will not deal with any more headache inducing idiots today."

As she finally made it to the restaurant, she saw Luffy had been the idiot that sent Smoker flying at her and Ace as the young captain was being chased by Smoker from the restaurant. Ace, who had somehow ended up back on the ground, shot to his feet, and without warning he took off running as well while shouting for Luffy to come back as if he knew him. Wren watched the three men run off as the patrons and chef didn't seem to know what to think.

"I believe I am starting to regret my decision of coming here and joining the Straw Hats." Wren said to herself.

* * *

Ling, who was sitting on top a building, looked down at the Straw Hat Pirates as Smoker was dealing with Portgas D. Ace. Ling had been walking around the market when Tashigi ran up to her saying Smoker spotted Monkey D. Luffy, and wanted all of them to look for the Straw Hats. Well, she found them, and they were currently running away. However, Wren wasn't with them. It was probably for the best since she didn't want to fight Wren. Not because she saw Wren as a friend, which she doesn't. But because Ling didn't feel like actually having to work hard in a fight.

"I suppose I better stop those rookies." Ling said.

She then jumped down from the building to drop down in front of the Straw Hats, which had them skidding to a halt.

"Oh, no, another marine!" The long nose said.

"A pretty lady marine~" Sanji said looking awed.

Ling frowned at the blonde looking annoyed with his attitude. Ling then let her butterfly sword slip out of her sleeves into her hands. Zoro grinned looking intrigued when seeing her weapon of choice.

"Butterfly swords, huh?" Zoro asked. "They're classified as swords, but definitely more meant for melee attacks."

"You're that swordsman Tashigi mentioned." Ling said. "Roronoa Zoro, I believe. Weren't you some kind of pirate hunter?"

"I gave up that profession." Zoro said as he stepped up while inching out one of his swords.

Ling just hummed in acknowledgement to his statement as some of the marines cheered when seeing their First Lieutenant had cut off the Straw Hats.

"Pirate hunter turned pirate." Ling said. "Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke."

"Ling, don't stand around making small talk!" Smoker snapped. "Take down the Straw Hats!"

Ling looked past the Straw Hats to glare heatedly at her superior with annoyance clear on her face.

"Why don't you just worry about your own fight, _Captain_?!" Ling suggested. "If I want to make small talk with a filthy pirate, I'll make small talk with a filthy pirate!"

Zoro frowned at being called a filthy pirate while wondering if the woman in front of all of them forgot that he was standing right there.

"Just do as you're told for once, woman!" Smoker ordered. "We can't let the Straw Hats escape!"

"If you want me to do something then ask nicely for a change, you bastard!" Ling yelled. "Is that so hard to ask?"

The marines sweat-dropped as their superiors were literally bickering when they had pirates to fight. Ace even sweat-dropped as he wondered if he could just walk away now.

"Is this really the place to have a lover's quarrel?" A new voice chipped in. "It seems very unprofessional, doesn't it?"

Everyone turned to see Wren had arrived to the party, and was sitting in a straight and proper manner on top of a barrel.

"Wren!" Her crewmates exclaimed when seeing her.

"Wren-chwan, you've returned!" Sanji said as he spun around. "I was becoming so worried! I'm relieved to see you're safe, my love!"

Ace blinked when hearing what Sanji called Wren before looking over at said woman.

"You dating this guy?" He asked.

"No, I am not." Wren, who stood up, said. "Even if it was, it would be none of your business. Anyway, now isn't the time for small talk. So I will be taking my sword and ending this now."

She walked over to her crew then took her sword from Sanji who had been carrying it. She then unsheathed it with the blade gleaming perilously in the harsh sunlight of Alabasta.

"Whoever wishes to live, I suggest you leave." Wren said in a dangerous tone. "Anyone who remains will fall by my blade."

* * *

1) Oyaji-pops/father


	13. The City That Was Once Green

It was silent for a moment as the marines gulped at Wren's threat. The look in her eye told them she was very serious about what she said. Wren then whirled around to block Ling's blades when the marine woman launched herself at her. Ling narrowed her eyes at Wren as the younger woman smirked openly. Wren slashed forward with a strong swing to force Ling back. Ling jumped into the air then did a tuck and roll in the air before landing on her feet.

"You just had to show up, didn't you?" Ling asked as she sighed. "I wasn't in the mood to put any effort into a fight."

Wren chuckled as she held her sword out to the side of her with the black blade glistening in the light. Wren then glanced at her captain.

"Luffy-sama, please take the others back to the ship." Wren said "Everything here will be handled quickly."

Luffy looked between Wren and Ace as the two of them faced their opponents. He knew they could handle themselves, so he nodded his head.

"Okay." Luffy said. "Let's go."

He started running with the others following though Sanji did throw a worried look back at Wren. Ling didn't even try to stop the Straw Hats as they ran by her.

"Ling, you're letting them get away!" Smoker said.

"I highly doubt I'd be able to lay a finger on them now with Saturn Wren here." Ling said as she kept her jade green eyes on Wren. "I might lose that finger if I tried."

She then let out a sigh because she really hadn't felt like dealing with Wren because that meant she'd have to put more effort into this fight. Smoker frowned though it was actually probably best that Ling put all her attention on Wren.

"I could have handled them on my own, ya know." Ace, who already deduced that Wren was on his brother's crew, said to Wren as he glanced over at said woman. "You could have went with your crew."

"Oh?" Wren asked. "Then why were my crewmates stopped as they were trying to escape?"

Ace just chuckled as he turned his attention back onto Smoker who was getting annoyed with all the people getting in his way to capture Straw Hat Luffy.

"Crewmates?" Smoker asked. "You allied yourself with the Straw Hat Pirates?"

"That I did." Wren said as she placed her sword on her shoulder. "They're an interesting bunch for sure."

Smoker narrowed his eyes knowing the Straw Hats would gain even more attention from the navy with such a bigshot on their crew.

"Now," Wren began. "Let's get this over with. I promised my captain this squabble would be finished quickly."

Ling narrowed her eyes at Wren then ran at her with her butterfly swords at the ready. Wren dodged every swipe Ling made at her with the butterfly swords before she went on the offence. Wren slashed Banshī forward, and her sword clashed against Ling's weapons, which had sparks flying. Wren then lashed out her foot to catch Ling in the gut. It forced Ling backwards, but the older woman retaliated by striking out her own foot, which she aimed at Wren's head. Wren caught Ling's foot with her bare hand before tossing Ling high in the air back towards Smoker, who engaged Ace in battle, and the other marines. Ling landed in front of her men as Ace and Smoker, who were in their element forms, were creating a vortex of fire and smoke above them.

"Good." Wren said. "You're all in one place now."

Ling frowned as she mentally cursed herself for her mistake. Wren slashed forward with a screaming cutting attack heading straight for Ling and the other marines. Ling lifted up her butterfly swords to block the attack. While her weapons blocked the cutting force of the attack it had her flying backwards over her men who were being cut up. She landed on some pottery that broke at her impact. As the marines were falling in defeated, Wren sheathed her sword. She then watched as Ace and Smoker hit the ground, which created a fire-smoke screen that blinded a lot of people.

"Time to go." Ace said as he suddenly appeared in front of Wren as he reverted to his human form.

He grabbed Wren to pick her up in a bridal style manner, which had her squealing in protest.

"Set me down right now, you brute!" Wren demanded as Ace carried her away.

He didn't do as she wished, which had her boiling in anger as he ran from the marines. He kept running for a while before ducking into an alley. He peeked around a building to see if they were being followed. When seeing they seemed to have gotten away, he finally set Wren down. She immediately bonked him on the head, which had him wincing.

"You barbarian!" Wren snapped. "You don't just grab young ladies like that!"

Ace said he was sorry as he grinned, which had Wren's eyebrow twitching. She then took a breath to calm herself. This man…she didn't even know if there was a word to describe how annoying he was, and she has quite a wide vocabulary. All she knew was that he could push just the exact buttons to anger her without trying. It made her snap and yell without thinking, which was something a proper young woman wouldn't do. Wren smoothed out her skirt then turned away from Ace to start heading in the direction of town. Though she'd be sure not to cross the marines again.

"Where are you going?" Ace asked. "Your crew ran in the opposite direction."

"I still need to buy cloaks for Nami-san, Vivi-san, and I." Wren said. "The outfits we're wearing aren't meant for desert travel since the sun is so harsh, and I already sunburn easily."

Ace could notice light pink patches on Wren's skin that showed she was already starting to get early signs of sunburn.

"If you wish to speak with Luffy-sama, you should try to catch up to him and the others." Wren said as she pointed in the direction the crew ran. "I will join you all shortly."

"Alright." Ace said as he adjusted the strap of his pack. "Be careful."

"Yes, yes." Wren said while waving off his worry. "I'll be fine."

He watched her go before turning to go in the direction his brother and crewmates had run off.

* * *

"Thank-you for shopping here, my dear." The elderly woman said as Wren paid for the cloaks she had picked out. "I appreciate your business."

Wren smiled politely at the elderly woman while dipping her head. Wren then put the strap to the bag holding her newly bought clothes on her shoulder with the strap going across her chest.

"Have a nice day, ma'am." Wren said as she dipped her head to the woman.

Wren then left the store while making sure to check all angles for any signs of the marines. She didn't see them, so she continued down the street in the direction that the ship was docked. She knew the others had probably moved it though due to the marines running around. However, Wren was very confident that she'd be able to find it. Wren cut around a few corners before making it outside the town. She walked along the shore while keeping her eye out for the ship. As she was walking, she noticed many Baroque Works ships sailing across the water.

"Aren't those the billions?" She asked herself. "Where could they be sailing in such a hurry?"

She received her answer when she spotted the Going Merry not all that far away from the Baroque Works ships. She sighed wondering how her crew seemed to just find one problem after the next. First the marines and now they already have the attention of the Baroque Works billions. Crocodile would hear about her crew soon for certain even if they leave the billions alone or take them out.

"So much for the element of surprise." Wren said. "I'm sure we're going to lose it now, and if by some miracle we don't, I'm sure we won't keep it long."

Wren was about to take care of those ships, but noticed a flame flying over them. She knew immediately that it was Ace. On the other side of the ships, his small boat popped out of the water for him to land on as he retook his human form.

"Fire Fist!" He shouted as he punched his flame covered first forward.

An explosive amount of flames shot forward to engulf the billions' ships. Wren sighed knowing there was no way to cover up this.

"Though I suppose it couldn't be helped." Wren said.

She then waved her hand out beside her with a large bat-like creature appearing beside her. It was a bit smaller than a horse with long flashing fangs, and its face honestly looked a bit wolf like. Wren climbed onto its back, and once she was on its back safely, the bat-creature flew up into the air to fly towards the ship.

"Ack, it's a bat!" Usopp cried out from the deck as the bat came into view of the ship. "A really huge bat!"

Ace looked up at the bat with a grin on his face as it circled around the ship. Wren jumped off of its back while it was still in the air, and her friends gasped when seeing her.

"It's Wren!" Luffy shouted as he laughed.

Wren landed on the deck as the bat perched itself up on the crow's nest to look down at the crew.

"What is that thing?" Nami asked as she stared up at it.

"It's a Wolf Bat." Wren said. "They're very common on certain fall islands in the Grand Line."

She then snapped her finger with the Wolf Bat disappearing in a wisp of black smoke.

"What took you so long to get here?" Zoro asked. "Have trouble in your battle?"

"No, I finished my fight before Ace-san." Wren said as said man came back on board. "I just needed to pick up a few more items in town."

Zoro's brow quirked wondering what she had needed to grab in town before rejoining them.

"Well, that doesn't matter now." Nami said. "We need to get out of here fast before the marines or more Baroque Work minions show up. Everyone get to work!"

"Aye, aye!" The guys said.

* * *

Wren sat on the deck with the others as they were all eating and drinking. She was rubbing in sunblock, which she had bought along with the cloaks on her skin. She frowned at the pink patches already appearing on her skin. She needed to be more careful, or she'd be lobster red again. She almost wanted to shudder at the very thought.

"So, Wren, you know Ace, right?" Luffy asked curiously. "Are you friends?"

Wren paused in rubbing in the sunblock on her shoulder as she glanced at Ace who chuckled.

"We do know each other, Luffy-sama." Wren said as she returned to rubbing in the sunblock.

"But she doesn't like me very much." Ace added as he grinned.

He didn't seem bothered by this fact. In fact, Nami could see Ace almost seemed amused. Wren on the other hand did not as she frowned openly at Ace.

"Why?" Chopper asked as he blinked.

"Because he is a rude, teatime interrupting, tea set breaking brute." Wren replied bluntly then let out a breath. "However, I suppose I would call him a close acquaintance despite all that."

"Oh?" Ace inquired. "Looks like we're making progress."

Wren just gave him a look that basically told him to go jump into the ocean and drown, which had Nami and Vivi sweat-dropping.

"Don't push your luck, Ace-san." Wren said.

"Right." He said nodding.

He took another swig of his grog as Wren started applying the sunblock to her face. She definitely didn't want to get burned on her face.

"You're really putting on a lot of sunblock, Wren." Nami commented.

"I burn easily." Wren explained. "I guess it's just the curse of having such pale skin. I never tan. I only turn red, and after the last time it happened, I'd rather avoid getting another burn."

"Did you burn that badly?" Nami asked.

Wren hung her head as she remembered those awful few days of being red and feeling pain.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren winced as she laid nude on her bed with her back facing up, and one of her sheets covering part of her lower half. Her skin was flaming red and stung without her even moving. She bit her lip as she tried not to flinch from the hands applying aloe to her back._

 _"_ _Sorry, Neechan." Dellinger said as he rubbed the aloe into her back._

 _He tried to be gentle, but even doing that didn't seem to prevent Wren from feeling pain. Baby 5 and Jora were helping him apply the aloe while rubbing it into Wren's legs. Wren nearly felt like crying because it hurt so much, but she held back the tears._

 _"_ _I hate the sun." Wren said as she buried her face in her pillow. "I'll never try to tan again for as long as I live."_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

"I think I've gotten my answer." Nami said when seeing the cloud of depression hanging over Wren's head.

"She's got the right idea to apply sunblock." Vivi said. "The people around here don't need it as much as outsiders would, but when out on the desert sand the sun can become even more dangerous to our skin."

Nami nodded her head in understanding as the guys continued to drink and eat.

"Here let me help you get your back." Nami said.

Wren thanked Nami as the slightly younger woman took the sunblock away from Wren. As Nami started applying the sunblock to Wren's back, Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy decided to make a toast to Ace joining the crew.

"Wait, who said I was joining your crew?" Ace asked.

He went ignored as the three boys chugged down some of their drinks vigorously. Once they were done chugging, they made another toast. Ace frowned when seeing that he was being ignored.

"Oh, don't worry." Nami said as she continued to help Wren apply sunblock. "You can't take anything they say serious when they get like this. They get a little goofy when they drink."

Ace sighed supposing he'd take Nami's word for it. He's never seen Luffy drink before, so he didn't know what kind of person his kid brother was when drinking. The only alcohol Luffy ever had in his presence was that small cup of sake back when they were kids.

"They haven't even drank that much." Wren said as the boys continued toasting. "Is their tolerance level that low?"

Wren wasn't a heavy drinker herself, but she could definitely drink quite a few alcoholic beverages before even getting tipsy. Then she's seen Raelin drink enough for five people before she even became a bit buzzed.

"They'll just have to build it up, I guess." Nami said laughing.

Wren hummed supposing that was so as Nami finished applying the sunblock to Wren's back. Wren was now covered from head to toe in sunblock, which would hopefully help prevent any sunburn.

"Ace, you sure you don't want to join us?" Luffy asked over the meat in his mouth. "It'll be fun, I promise."

"I can't right now." Ace said. "I'm chasing someone."

Wren looked at Ace curiously when he said that while the man as taking a swig from his mug.

"He's a pirate named Blackbeard." Ace said.

Wren narrowed her eyes knowing who Ace was talking about. He was a nobody, but got a few people's attention after that mess on Drum Island. Why did Ace have an interest in him?

"Blackbeard?" Usopp asked.

"Wait, I've heard of him." Vivi said. "He's the one who attacked Drum Kingdom."

Ace frowned as he placed his foot on the barrel he was sitting on to rest his arm on his knee.

"You see Blackbeard used to be a member of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates." Ace explained. "He was one of my own men, but he committed the most unforgiveable sin a pirate could. He killed one of his fellow crewmates, and then he jumped ship."

Wren's eyes widened an inch, but she kept her face neutral. The man Ace was talking about…was the man who killed Thatch? Blackbeard was really that man?

"As commander of my division, it's my responsibility to take care of him." Ace finished explaining.

"Are you saying that this Blackbeard person is _Teach_?" Wren asked with a frown on her face. "And that he killed…?"

Wren trailed off, but Ace didn't need her to say his deceased crewmate's name since he knew who she was talking about. He nodded his head silently with a frown on his face. Sanji, who has remained silently to the side, looked at Wren's face closely when seeing that she seemed a bit upset. Did she know this Blackbeard well? And this person he killed?

"And I take it you came here because you heard Blackbeard might be here?" Wren asked.

"Yes." Ace said nodding. "I heard he was seen here in Alabasta…in a place called Yuba, so that's where I'm headed."

He took another drink from his mug as Wren folded her hands in her lap neatly. She had a thoughtful look on her face as she stared forward.

"Hey, that's our destination too, right?" Nami asked Vivi.

Vivi nodded her head then pulled out a map to show everyone what route they'd be taking.

"Exactly." Vivi said. "We just entered the Sandora River. We'll take it to Erumalu where we'll dock. Then we're proceed on foot until were reach Yuba here."

She pointed at Yuba on the map as some of the others were gathered around to look at the map.

"The leader of the rebel army is there." Vivi said. "That's where we're going."

"You don't say." Ace commented. "Do you mind if I tag along? Though I'm not sure Wren will allow it."

He said this jokingly as he glanced back at Wren, but she didn't seem to hear him since she was still lost in thought. He looked at her curiously as he wondered what she was thinking about so hardly.

"Nami-chan, Vivi-san, Wren-chwan~" Sanji called out sweetly as he did this weird little dance. "I'll follow you anywhere. Just tell me where to go."

"Hopefully it's off of a cliff." Zoro said.

"What'd you say, Zoro?!" Sanji demanded.

Before a fight could break out, Nami told them to cool it, which Sanji instantly obeyed as he grinned goofily.

"Well, looks like you'll be with us for a little while, Ace." Nami said.

"Haha, we're all really happy to have you aboard." Usopp added.

The others—besides, Wren—gather around with their mugs in hand, and as they face a toast, Wren looked up at the sky with that thoughtful look still in her eye.

* * *

Wren was sitting at a small table that Sanji had brought out to her earlier, and it had a tea set out on it. She was drinking the tea with the soothing taste of Earl Grey touching her taste buds. Not far from her, Zoro was weightlifting, and Chopper was enjoying the breeze created by Zoro swinging the heavy weights like one of his swords. Sanji, who was preparing the lunches, Usopp, and Luffy were in the galley with Ace. Vivi was coming up from the woman's quarters, and Nami was at the front of the ship. Beside Wren, Karoo was laying curled up, and she absently pet his feathery form.

"Things are going to become complicated soon, Ducky-chan." Wren said to the duck. "Will the plans I have in mind be of any use?"

Karoo lifted his head as he seemed to look at Wren in concern since he sensed as if something was bothering her. He placed his head in her lap, which had her giving him a soft smile. She pet his head as Vivi joined Nami at the front of the ship.

"Nami, if you don't mind, I'd like to stop the ship here." Vivi said. "It will just be for a moment."

"Stop?" Nami asked. "What for?"

Vivi turned to look down at Karoo who was dozing off as Wren was petting him.

"I have a very important mission for Karoo." Vivi explained.

"Karoo?" Nami asked.

When hearing his name, the Ultra Spotbill Duck lifted his head off Wren's lap to look up at Vivi. He blinked wondering what he was needed for. Wren took note of the folded paper in Vivi's hands, and took a guess that Karoo would be taking a letter to Vivi's father or someone else of importance. A few minutes later, the ship was docked, with almost everyone going on shore to bid Karoo farewell. Wren, who was sitting on the railing, remained on the ship with Ace and Zoro as she watched Vivi speak with Karoo.

"Karoo, I need you to go to Alabarna Palace, and deliver this letter to my father." Vivi explained as Karoo quacked softly. "It contains everything uncovered by Igaram and myself. The details of Crocodile's nefarious plans for the country are in here. Also it lets him know that I've returned to Alabasta safe and sound in the company of brave friends willing to help us in our struggle. Well then, can you do this for me, Karoo?"

Karoo gave a quack of confirmation as he saluted Vivi using one of his wings. She smiled at her childhood friend as he looked at her in determination. She then put the letter away in the green cloak that went around Karoo's duck body.

"Now, be careful to conserve your water, kay?" Vivi asked as she stood.

The others gave a few parting words before Karoo zoomed off. However, he didn't get far before stopping to take a few sips of water. He zoomed off again with dust kicking up behind him.

"I said conserve not consume!" Vivi shouted after him.

She then watched him disappear while hoping that he'd be alright on his own. As the others remained still to watch Karoo leave, Wren let out a sigh as she looked up at the sky.

"Well, I did know that Crocodile was here in Alabasta." Ace said as he turned away from the scene. "But him trying to steal a kingdom? That sounds like a bad joke. Cause why would a pirate drop anchor in one spot and settle down? Crocodile trying to assert the thrown of Alabasta doesn't make sense."

Zoro looked at Ace closely wondering what exactly he was trying to say. Was he implying that Crocodile was here for other reasons? Wren then got down from the railing as the others were climbing on board with Luffy declaring it was time to set sail.

"It might not make sense to you." Wren said. "Or any pirate really. However, there's great advantages for Crocodile if he does take over Alabasta. Besides, he wouldn't be the first Shichibukai to drop anchor and take over a territory. Boa Hancock is an actual empress to her people. Then Dracule Mihawk has chosen an island to call home as well even if he isn't exactly its ruler."

Zoro's eyes widened at the mention of Dracule Mihawk. He had no idea that man was a Shichibukai. And he was surprised to hear that Wren knew where he lives.

"Then there's my former captain, of course." Wren said. "He is the current king of Dressrosa, which is a kingdom in the New World. My point is that it's not so farfetched to believe that Crocodile is trying to take the throne of Alabasta for himself. Though I don't believe Crocodile would just choose to take over Alabasta on a small whim, or take this long to do so. Yes, it would be like his own personal sandbox, but that wouldn't be enough to get him to work so hard to gain what he has here already. I believe there's something deeper happening here."

"Like deeper goal or something." Ace summed up.

Wren nodded her head as she started walking away to join the others on the deck below. Ace followed after as Zoro watched the both of them leave. Another motive? As Wren walked down the steps, she turned towards Nami and Vivi.

"Nami-san, Vivi-san, before I forget there are somethings I need to give you that should help us in the desert under the harsh sun." Wren said.

* * *

Wren stood on deck with her tan cloak around her to keep her skin covered up from the sun. She had her bag over her shoulder, and her sword holster over her cloak, so that she could reach her sword easier. She was ready to cross this desert. Though she wasn't sure how things would go with this new crew of hers. She knew what to expect of her last crew and her subordinates, but she would have to see how these rookies would do.

"We're finally here." Luffy said as the ship approached the shore.

Wren walked to the front of the ship to look at the shore when something triggered her senses. She narrowed her visible eye partially as she glanced down at the water. There were many "voices" coming from below. As she wondered what could below the water's surface, she heard Sanji kicking up a fuss, so she glanced back at the deck below.

"Ah, Nami-chwan, what happened?!" Sanji asked. "Where's your dancer outfit?!"

Wren sighed while not all surprised that he was acting like this. Though didn't he know how dangerous it was to have too much skin showing in the desert?

"Wah, you both as well!" Sanji exclaimed as he looked between Vivi and Wren. "Vivi-san, Wren-chan, why are you wearing those things?"

"So I don't turn into a lobster." Wren said under her breath as she looked to the side.

Vivi just explained to Sanji that they couldn't walk around with their skin exposed, but it seemed as if Sanji wasn't taking that explanation okay since he was rolling around on the deck in depression.

"Time to drop anchor." Zoro said as he and Usopp got to work.

"Right." Usopp said nodding.

As they were dropping the anchor, Wren left the ship without the others really noticing. She looked around trying to figure out what those voices belonged to. Suddenly a shape jumped out of the water to land on the shore not far from where Wren was standing. Wren blinked while seeing it was some type of dugong. There were many pieces of dugong in the ocean, but she's never run into the ones native of Alabasta. More dugongs appeared in the water, which gained the crew's attention.

"Turtles?" Zoro asked.

"No, I think they're seals." Luffy said.

"They're Kung Fu dugongs!" Vivi exclaimed.

One of them, who seemed to be the leader, started seemingly speaking to the crew, so Chopper started to translate.

" _'_ _If you wanna come to shore, you're going to have to beat me first! But I doubt that'll happen ya bunch of cowards,'_ he says." Chopper translated.

"I would like to point out that I am already on the shore." Wren stated simply.

The dugongs and her crewmates looked at her in shock while wondering when she had left the ship. Wren shook her head wondering how unobservant could people get. She then sensed an attack coming at her, so she tipped her head to the side to avoid getting hit. The dugong that attacked went flying past her as Usopp and Chopper gapped openly.

"Whoa, how'd she do that?" Chopper asked.

More dugongs started attacking Wren, but she dodged each attack with ease. She honestly didn't want to harm any of these little creatures. However, it wasn't like she had the time to just wait for them to tire themselves out.

"It's like she's moving to dodge before the dugongs even move to attack." Zoro said as he watched closely.

"Their moves must be predictable." Usopp said nodding with a confident smirk on his face. "But dodging isn't going to defeat them, so I—Captain Usopp!—will help Wren out!"

Usopp jumped ship while not listening to Vivi's warning, which proved to be a mistake since he was taken out fairly easily.

"Kung Fu dugongs are really strong." Vivi finished her warning though it was too late.

Wren paused in her dodging to look over at Usopp as she wondered if she needed to help him. She then jumped over a dugong that tried to attack while she was looking away. She landed on her feet as Luffy gave a cheer of victory, which drew all eyes onto him.

"See? They're not too tough." Luffy said as he grinned.

"That's bad too!" Vivi yelled.

After Luffy defeated that one, the other dugongs stopped fighting to look at Luffy in awe. The one he punched even bowed to him.

"It's one of their rules." Vivi said. "If they lose a Kung Fu match, they become the winner's pupil."

"You don't say." Zoro commented casually.

All the dugongs then went to Luffy, which meant Wren didn't have to keep dodging.

"They think you're their master now!" Vivi snapped.

Luffy didn't seem all that bothered by this development since he soon had all the dugongs practicing their punching. Wren lightly chuckled as she tilted her head to the side.

"And once again Luffy-sama does something amusing." Wren said as she lightly smiled.

The others weren't all that amused. In fact, Vivi and Nami had frowns on their faces.

"I wonder how all of this will end." Wren said.

* * *

Wren walked near the back of the group while looking over the note that Ling had left her. It have bits and pieces of information that Ling managed to gather the few days that she had been here. Information that she hadn't even shared with her captain yet it seemed. Wren almost wanted to chuckle when seeing that Ling was putting more faith in her dealing with Crocodile than her own comrades. Though Wren could understand. As marines they couldn't openly attack Crocodile without solid evidence that he was doing despicable things that not even his title as Shichibukai could protect him from getting punished.

Wren knew that Ling was putting her faith in Wren to bring down Crocodile, which means one less Shichibukai. However, Wren knew that the government and the marines would quickly try to replace Crocodile. Though it should take time since you don't just run across a very powerful pirate with the wish to be the government's dog often. And the ones that did agree either did it on a whim, or thought the government could help them achieve their own goals even if the government wasn't aware of it themselves.

What Ling managed to get honestly wasn't much since Wren already knew most of what Ling wrote since the informant posing as the officer agent Ms. Halloween, already informed Wren of this basic information. The note also said that Crocodile and the rebels were gearing up to move, but Wren already guessed that things were already coming to that point. Though this end note at the bottom intrigued Wren. Apparently Crocodile has been looking into some old and forgotten ruins of Alabasta. Now what could he be trying to find in old ruins? Wren wasn't sure what, but she would like to find out. Maybe it was something she could use for her own gain.

"Wren, what are you looking at?" Nami asked curiously as she dropped back to walk beside Wren.

"Just some information that my informant managed to get in her short time here." Wren replied as she folded up the message to place inside her cloak. "It isn't much, but I'm grateful that she worked hard to get what she did."

Nami blinked as she wondered what information Wren was able to get from her informant.

"The information just tells me the current situation of Alabasta, and that Crocodile is getting close to making his move." Wren said. "We could have just a few short days before he tries to make his final move to secure whatever it is he wishes from this kingdom."

Nami frowned since that wasn't good at all. They'd have to hurry and settle things with the rebel army, so they could turn their attention onto Crocodile.

"Also, there are rumors that the rebel army has gained more men to its ranks." Wren continued. "And that they might be preparing to make their own move as well. If we don't hurry, we'll reach Yuba and the rebel army will have already moved on."

Wren didn't like just giving bad news, but she couldn't try to hide the truth or make it sound better than it does. Of course, she does hide what she deems information that wouldn't matter either way to the crew, or change their objection. Like Crocodile searching for something. There was no reason to burden the others with such information if it wouldn't change anything. Wren then looked forward while noticing the others came to a stop on top of one of the sand dunes. She and Nami joined the others while looking into the abandoned city that was mostly buried in sand.

"What's this?" Sanji asked.

"Are we in Yuba already?" Luffy asked.

"No…this is Erumalu." Vivi said. "It was known far and wide as the city of green."

Wren looked around guessing all the green dried and shriveled up a long time ago. It was nothing more than sand and ruins now.

"It was green?" Luffy asked.

Vivi turned to face her friends as they continued to look at the city of ruins in front of them.

"Take a good look around, everyone." Vivi said. "This is what Baroque Works has been doing to my country. The people of Alabasta…this is what they have had to go through."

Wren's indifferent expression didn't change as she continued to look around. Though the others looked awed yet bothered as they looked at the landscape. Wren wasn't completely unsympathetic. It was just that she's seen places like this some many times, and has dealt with men like Crocodile nearly her entire life that she doesn't blink at such sights like this anymore. It was like any tears she could have shed dried up, and there was no more left to spare. And a part of her almost didn't see the point in showing sympathy. It wouldn't change anything, would it?

"Whoa, there's nothing here at all anymore, huh?" Luffy asked as the group started moving again.

"No, it's nothing but a ghost town now." Vivi said. "Up until a few short years ago it was a thriving city full of gardens, palm trees, and lush greenery."

Zoro paused by a palm tree to lightly kick the bottom of its drunk, and it instantly crumbled at the light touch.

"This place?" He asked disbelieving.

"Rain was always scarce here, but by saving every last drop of water and using it wisely, the city was able to make the foliage flourish." Vivi explained. "Unfortunately that stopped when the rain did. Not a single drop of water has fallen in any part of this country for three years now."

Wren was a bit surprised this country and its people have lasted that long without any rainfall. It showed how resilient the people of Alabasta are, but even the most resilient have a breaking point, which is what has led to all the trouble happening now.

"Three years?" Sanji asked in surprise.

"Wow, that long?" Chopper asked.

Of course, rain didn't really fall that much in Drum King either, but snow was plentiful, and it was just frozen rain.

"But wait, even without rain, there was still the river as another water source." Zoro pointed out.

"And it's close." Usopp added. "Why couldn't they just pipe the water in from over there?"

"The answer to that is just up ahead." Vivi replied.

The others gave her slightly confused looks though followed after her as she kept walking.

"Even though it's a desert kingdom, never in the thousands of years of Alabasta's history has the rain ever just stopped completely." Vivi kept speaking. "However, there was one place in the country where the rain fell more than usual. Most more in fact. Alabarna the capital. The city where the king's palace was located."

Wren had heard of this through the grape vine of kingdoms. It wasn't hard to considering that she accompanied Doflamingo to one of those meetings of the kingdoms in the Holy Land. She also heard about something else that happened a few years back. It was a big scandal that all the kingdoms heard about even the ones in the New World, so Dressrosa was not an exception.

"The people of the land called it the king's miracle." Vivi said. "At least they did until one particular day."

"You're talking about the day that dance powder was brought to this kingdom on a ship." Wren said.

Vivi's eyes widened as she looked towards Wren. How did the older woman know about the dance powder? Even though Vivi was surprised she did nod her head.

"Dance powder?" Nami asked.

"Oh you know about it?" Luffy asked.

"I sure have." Nami said. "It summons rain."

"And it happens to be highly illegal to own the powder." Wren added.

Usopp and Chopper blinked curiously as they wondered why powder that could summon rain would be illegal. It was honestly a bit baffling that it could summon rain in the first place.

"How can powder summon rain?" Chopper asked.

Nami took a moment to explain how dance powder works as the group continued walking. Nami explained that to use the powder it must be burned into the atmosphere, and after some chemical reaction that it caused the clouds to rain.

"Oh, I know what you're talking about." Luffy said. "I've seen that stuff before. I ate some awhile back. It tasted pretty gross though. Yuck."

Wren sweat-dropped as she wondered if Luffy would just stuff anything in his mouth.

"You ate dance powder?" Nami asked sounding disbelieving as she walked past Luffy.

"It's not even food." Zoro added as he walked by as well. "It's for making rain."

Luffy started throwing a tantrum when he realized his crewmates didn't believe him. However, they didn't listen to him as they kept walking.

"Hang on, I don't get it." Usopp said. "Wouldn't that stuff be perfect for a desert country like this?"

"Well, technically yes." Wren answered. "However, I did mention it was illegal to own, which also means illegal to use. And there's a very good reason for that. To put it in simple terms, dance powder doesn't just create rain. It steals it from other countries by maturing rain clouds that were hanging thin over a country such as this to make it rain, which means the cloud that would have matured into a rain cloud for another country to have fresh rain water won't since it had been forced into use for that dry country. So in the end, while you supply water to one country with dance powder, another will suffer from drought."

Usopp made an "ah" sound of understanding, and could now understand why dance powder would be illegal. It was stealing the rain from other countries after all.

"That must have caused some major problems." Usopp said.

"Oh, it did." Nami said. "A war broke out between the neighboring countries. Ever since then the World Government has instituted a worldwide ban on the production and possession of dance powder."

Wren was sure that if the Tenryuubito* took a liking to it though that the ban would be revoked, or a special rule would be added to allow the Tenryuubito to get what they want. Actually she was sure that something as she was thinking was already happening. It wouldn't surprise her at all if there was a small corner of the world that was allowed to make dance powder for the Tenryuubito and other nobles' pleasure.

"Even so, some of it managed to show up here, huh?" Usopp asked.

"When it happened, the country had been experiencing strange weather." Vivi said. "There had been no rain. Not a single drop had fallen anywhere except one place. And that was the capital."

Yes, Wren had heard all about it. How the people became angered, and how they all blamed their king for the lack of rain in other parts of the country.

"Vivi, that means your dad is the bad guy here!" Luffy exclaimed as he pointed at Vivi.

His accusation got him a kick on the head from Sanji. Actually multiple kicks on the head as Sanji berated him for accusing Vivi's father.

"Of course, my father didn't have anything to do with it…he was innocent." Vivi said. "Unfortunately, a large amount of dance powder was discovered in his palace shortly thereafter."

"Hmm, it seems as if Crocodile planned well." Wren commented as she kept walking. "First, he plants a seed of distrust amongst the citizens of Alabasta by bringing dance powder to this kingdom. Of course, he had to have started his plan long before then to get someone into the palace to plant even more dance powder within the palace walls. Not only that, but he did this as well."

The others looked at Wren curiously as she stopped walking. She crouched down on what looked like a road as the others stropped behind her. She then touched the ground that was bone dry with an unreadable expression on her face.

"What are you talking about, Wren?" Zoro asked.

"This looks like a dried up canal to me." Wren said as she stood. "And Vivi-san did mention earlier that the answer as to why the citizens didn't have a canal from here to the river would be answered up ahead. I am assuming this is what she meant."

"Yes, you're right." Vivi said nodding. "This once had been a canal until someone destroyed it."

Crocodile really was making it difficult on these people just to make them distrust their king. And making their suffering last three years seemed cruel, but he wasn't the first man to ever do such a thing. If he just wanted the throne, why make himself wait so long to obtain it? Wren had a feeling that if he had tried to make a move for it a bit sooner that the people would have happily tried to make him king. So why is he spending so much time here? The information that Ling managed to get that suggested Crocodile was looking for something entered Wren's mind once more.

What was he looking for so badly in this country? Was it really worth playing hero to these people for so long? And whatever this thing was that he was look for…was it something dangerous and powerful? If it was, it could either prove to be a help to Wren, or be a problem if Doflamingo was to get his hands on it. And honestly he was in a better position to get his hands on it since the inside agent was so high up in the ranks of the Baroque Works agency. Wren was brought out of her thoughts when a wind howled through the ruined city. She and the others looked around while noticing that the howling wind almost sounded like a voice.

"What is that?" Nami asked.

Wren narrowed her eyes not sensing any living beings around beside themselves. However, this wind put her on edge.

"Is it the rebels?" Chopper asked.

"Or more of those freaks from Baroque Works?" Usopp asked. "Oh, no."

Wren just continued to stand there as the howling wind continued to dance around the ruins.

"No, it's just wind." Ace said.

"It sounds like a voice, right?" Luffy asked

"It does, but it's still just the wind." Wren said. "There's nothing to worry about."

Usopp was still nervous, and looked around as if expecting some kind of enemy to jump out at them at any moment.

"It's as Wren said." Ace said. "There's no danger. It's just the wind blowing around the town. Echoing off the old buildings."

Wren then sensed as if something was coming thought not human, which had her frowning lightly. She started walking forward with her hand resting against the hilt of her sword.

"Wren-chan, what is it?" Sanji asked.

Wren didn't reply at first as she continued looking forward. Something was definitely coming…yet it wasn't human yet she felt as if there was something human about it.

"It's nothing serious." Wren said. "However there is something I wish to check out. I will meet you at the edge of the city."

She then ran forward while ignoring how Usopp and Nami yelled at her to come back. She made it rather far from the group while not exactly sure what she was looking for. What she did know though was that it was getting closer. Wren finally came to a stop when a small sand twister was heading right towards her, and whatever she was sensing seemed to come from it. She stood still letting the twister hit her. It didn't hurt her at all, but she felt as if something about it was odd. She opened her visible eye even if she knew she could get sand in it, and as she did, she could have sworn she saw some kind of hand and arm outlined in the sand. It went on by her as she stood there with slightly wide eyes.

"What was that?" She asked as she looked back to watch it go. "…Crocodile?"

* * *

1) Tenryuubito-Celestial Dragon


	14. The Many Dangers of the Desert!

Wren walked silently with her crewmates, Vivi, and Ace as they trekked across the desert. She was deep in thought while thinking back to that small sand tornado. That shape she saw in the sand…it was definitely a human outline, and there's only one person she knows to control sand. Wren came out of her thoughts when she heard Chopper, who was in his heavy point, and Usopp's raised voices. She looked back at them while wondering what was wrong with them. Zoro then got involved while forcing Chopper to shrink back down.

"You all need to stop the fussing and conserve your energy." Wren chided as she gave them a stern look. "We still have a lot of desert to cross, and over exerting yourselves isn't going to help any of us."

"Yes, ma'am, we're sorry." Chopper and Usopp said in unison.

Wren nodded her head once she saw that they understood. She then started walking again while pulling her hood farther down her face, so to protect it from the sun.

"The desert doesn't seem to bother you much, Vivi-san." Sanji commented.

"Well, I was born and raised in this country, so I guess you could say I'm used to it." Vivi said. "It all kind of depends on what kind of climate you grow in. Like how Tony-kun and Wren-san are better in colder, cloudier climates."

Wren looked at Vivi with a quirked brow as she wondered how Vivi came to the conclusion that Wren did better in colder weather.

"You weren't all that affected by the cold on Drum Island. Even after you lost your coat it didn't seem to bother you." Vivi explained when seeing Wren's curious look. "I'm guessing you came from a winter island or maybe an island in the North Blue."

Wren hummed in acknowledgement to Vivi's claim, but the others weren't sure if that was Wren confirming what Vivi said or not, so they looked curiously at Wren. Wren sighed lightly when feeling their curious looks.

"I was born in the North Blue." Wren said. "That's where Millennia Island was located. Then my crew—Excuse me, former crew was stationed in that sea for a while before moving on to the Grand Line. My homeland wasn't a winter island like the ones in the Grand Line, but the North Blue is one of the colder territories of the four Blues. And it did have heavy snow in the winters, and the snow actually started in the late fall then stayed sometimes stayed into the early spring."

Nami nodded knowing that was true. North Blue had islands that were usually cooler in climate while the South Blue islands were the exact opposite.

"Wren, if you came from an island with a lot of snow, why do you hate snow countries?" Usopp asked curiously.

Wren frowned looking down at the ground. Her hands clutched the straps of her bag tightly. By her silence the crew could see that she didn't wish to answer that question. Sanji moved to Wren's side to place a hand on her shoulder in comfort, and while she didn't say anything, she did reach up to pat his hand. Whether it was in silent gratitude or a way to assure Sanji that she was alright was unknown. Usopp bit his lip while trying to think of a conversation change.

"So, uh, what's with all these hills?" Usopp asked. "I was expecting a desert to be more flat!"

"This is a very old desert." Vivi said. "Some of the sand dunes here are over 900 feet high."

Which is impressive, but Wren didn't like having to climb up them. If she was on her own, she'd just fly over the desert on one of her creatures, but having to create enough creatures for everyone to hide for a long period of time would be too much for her. Using her ability to summon monsters wasn't usually hard, but when she summons multiple ones for so long it takes a toll on her.

"900 feet?" Usopp asked. "Oh my god…no…that's—huh—that's…a mountain."

Wren pondered that thinking they'd actually be kind of small mountains compared to how tall other mountains could be.

"So hot." Luffy whined from near the head of the group. "Water."

"Just one drink, Luffy." Nami said. "Just one mouthful."

Luffy put the straw to the barrel in his mouth, and as he drank some his mouthful was definitely bigger than Nami meant since his rubber cheeks puffed out quite a bit. Wren shook her head while seeing that Nami and Usopp were going to hit Luffy in the back of the head. She moved to the front quickly while holding Luffy's mouth closed like holding closed a water balloon, so when he was knocked in the back of the head, the water didn't spew out. He swallowed it down as Usopp and Nami snapped at him for drinking so much.

"Wren, why'd you let him drink that?!" Usopp asked.

"It was already in his mouth." Wren said as she let go of Luffy's mouth. "And it would have been a waste if he happened to spit it out after you both hit him in the back of the head. Now all of you calm down."

She glared at them while she said this, which had them shrinking away from her. She could be really scary at times. Wren then sighed when seeing that they calmed down a bit.

"I know this heat is getting to all of us, but we can't be acting so childishly." Wren said. "Crossing this desert is dangerous enough as it is, we don't need all of you wearing yourselves out and collapsing halfway through just because you all were fighting amongst yourselves."

Wren said no more than that as she turned around to start walking again. The group watched her for a minute then walked after her.

"Is it just me or does Wren seem to be a bit on edge?" Nami asked her friends.

"She's been acting kind of funny ever since we left Erumalu." Usopp added.

"She probably just saw something that bothered her." Zoro said. "I don't think we have to worry about her. I've learned pretty quickly that Wren can take care of herself."

The others murmured in agreement though two people continued to look at Wren in concern. Ace watched Wren with a curious eye as he wondered what was on her mind while Sanji wished there was a way to make her smile, so to get her mind off whatever was bothering her.

* * *

As the crew was getting ready for dinner after the sun went down, Wren sat a little ways away from them. She was leaning against one of the large rocks as the others were around the fire. She looked to be lightly dozing, but she was very much awake. Hard to sleep with a crew as loud as hers. However, she didn't feel like sleeping just yet. She could hear Sanji snapping at Luffy and Usopp to wait for the food to be done as Nami was complaining about the change of temperature. Wren opened her eye supposing it had gotten rather chilly, but she was fine with it. She definitely much preferred it to the scorching heat.

"Hey, Wren, aren't you cold over there?"

Wren blinked then turned her head to see it was Zoro who called out to her. He was looking at her more out of curiosity than concern though that didn't surprise her.

"Not really." Wren said. "It is a bit nippy, but I don't mind it."

Zoro nodded his head supposing that Vivi was right about Wren being able to handle colder weather. He wondered if the islands of the North Blue ever got this cold. Probably considering it does snow there.

"Well, you should stop being so antisocial." Nami called over to her. "Come join the rest of us."

Really Nami just wanted an extra source of heat to snuggle to like the boys had with Chopper.

"…but you're so far away." Wren said sighing.

Nami rolled her eyes as Vivi giggled in amusement. She wouldn't want to move if she was Wren either. They did do a lot of walking today.

"I'll carry you over here, my darling~" Sanji gushed as he rushed over to Wren.

Then before she could decline his offer, Sanji had her up in his arms, which actually drew a small whine of protest from the young woman. Ace chuckled at the pout on her face since it was nice to see her not being so serious or stoic. When she heard his chuckle, Wren threw him a frown, which just had his grin widening. Wren didn't have time to deal with him though since Sanji quickly carried her over to Nami and Vivi.

"Here you are, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he set her down beside Nami.

Wren sighed though thanked Sanji, which had him smiling widely at her thanks. Nami then leaned into Wren for warmth. It honestly made her think of the times that she and Law used to lean against each other at night as they were camping out on some island with Corazon. Though usually she was the one doing the leaning. She'd lean into Law's side while ignoring his grumbling about her being "clingy", which maybe she had been…but being near Law had made her happy. And even if his personality wasn't that "likeable", she felt safe when feeling Law's warmth and knowing he was close.

The memories of all those time brought a barely notable smile to Wren's face as she leaned her head on top of Nami's. The young navigator was at first surprised by the gesture, but Nami then smiled with her own feeling of nostalgia washing over her as she thought of Nojiko. Leaning against Wren like this was like being close to Nojiko again because like Nojiko, Wren gave off a warm sisterly vibe. Sanji, who was watching the two women, smiled when seeing Wren's beautiful face had lost the troubled expression from earlier. As Nami and Wren stayed huddled together, they ignored the boys as Usopp and Chopper got into another argument. It was resolved soon anyway when Luffy became involved.

Wren watched Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper soon drift off into the land of dreams. She wouldn't be surprised if Zoro had already joined them there. She then glanced to Nami to see the ginger haired girl had dozed off while leaning against Wren. Oh, how she wished she could find sleep so easily, but she hasn't had a decent night of sleep for such a long time that she has forgotten was a full night's rest fell like. Like Ace, Wren had her own sleeping disorder, but it wasn't narcolepsy that lead to randomly falling asleep. No, her disorder was insomnia, which was the inability to sleep regularly.

"It is such a pain." Wren murmured to herself so low that Vivi, Sanji, and Ace had not heard her.

She then gave a sigh as she looked up at the star covered sky. Not even its beauty could put her mind at ease and bring her sleep. Wren then glanced at Nami again as the younger woman continued to snooze. Wren waved her hand in an nonchalant way with one of her monkey monsters (not the giant ones) appearing at her side.

"Please move her into the shelter of the tent." Wren said. "And be gentle."

The monkey monster hooted while giving a salute before he carefully moved Nami away from Wren. Sanji normally would have snapped at the ape to let go of Nami, but he didn't wish to wake the navigator, so he settled for glaring heatedly at it instead. Vivi followed after the monkey into the tent, so she could rest as well.

"Aren't you going to turn in, Wren-chan?" Sanji asked. "A young and beautiful lady such as yourself needs your rest."

"No, I won't be resting yet." Wren said. "Someone needs to keep watch, and besides, when it comes to sleeping, I'm not very good at it."

Sanji frowned in confusion since he had no idea of what Wren meant. Did she really not sleep well? Now that he thinks about it, on the night he met Wren, she hadn't slept a wink. She stayed up the entire night to look over Nami, and after that he barely saw her rest as she sat like a sentinel at Nami's bedside as the navigator was sick. Then the night she had fallen asleep she woke from a nightmare. Did Wren have nightmares often? If she did, it would explain why it was rare for her to sleep. However, he remembers she had slept soundly when they were in the crow's nest together. Would she be able to sleep tonight if she knew someone was there beside her? With a decision made, Sanji moved over to Wren to sit down.

"Well, I'm not about to leave a lady all on her own." Sanji said as he grinned, but not in that usual love struck way of his. "So, I'll keep watch with you."

Wren went to protest, but paused while already knowing that he would insist at remaining at her side. And a part of her didn't mind him staying at her side.

"And feel free to cuddle me for warmth if you wish~" Sanji added as he puffed out smoke from his cigarette in the shape of hearts.

Wren sweat-dropped as she wondered if she'd ever truly get used to Sanji and his love struck ways. As Wren thanked Sanji for his offer, Ace watched the pair with an unreadable expression.

* * *

Wren began to stir as the early morning started to lighten the darkened desert. She opened her eye silently while wondering when she had shut them. Had she really fallen asleep? She also realized she was laying down instead of a sitting position. She blinked then turned her head to see Sanji's sleeping face above her. She realized her head was in his lap, and that at some point in the night that he or maybe even Ace draped a blanket over her to keep her warm. This is the second time she's gotten a full night's rest with the Straw Hat chef near. Was this merely coincidence?

"Ah, I found a shrimp!"

Wren turned her head again while seeing that Luffy, who was holding up a scorpion not a shrimp, was awake along with Usopp and Chopper.

"Are you sure it's a shrimp?" Chopper asked. "That's neat!"

Usopp then ran over as Wren pushed herself up into an almost complete sitting position.

"But shrimp don't live in the desert." Usopp said.

Luffy just turned around grinning as he showed Usopp his catch, and apparently the sniper didn't know what a scorpion was either because he immediately corrected his last statement while believing in Luffy's claim that what he had caught was indeed a shrimp.

"Actually, Luffy-sama, Usopp-san, Chopper-chan, what you're holding is a scorpion." Wren spoke up, which had Usopp and Chopper jumping since they were startled by her voice.

Luffy wasn't at all startled and turned his head to grin at his crewmate who wrapped the cover around herself.

"Are they edible?" Luffy asked hopefully.

"I suppose they could be if they were prepared properly." Wren said in a thoughtful manner as she cupped her chin and closed her eye.

She then opened her eye to look directly at Luffy who looked ready to just shove the scorpion into his mouth raw.

" _However_ , the stringer on its tail carries a heavy toxin." Wren continued, and her words has Luffy pausing. "A toxin so deadly that it could kill you in seconds if you were to be strung by it."

Usopp and Chopper gasped with horror written on their faces as they leaned away from the scorpion Luffy was holding. The young captain just frowned not looking worried in the slightest. Though he did look a tad annoyed he couldn't eat the scorpion.

"Oh really? Guess I don't want it then." He deadpanned. "You?"

He held it out towards Usopp who immediately flinched back away from Luffy and the scorpion.

"Hey now, keep that away from me!" Usopp ordered.

Luffy finally just threw the scorpion over his shoulder, and the creature scurried away as Vivi came out of the girls' tent.

"What's all the noise about?" She asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Nothing too important." Wren said. "Luffy-sama was just about to eat a scorpion, but once I pointed out how deadly it could be, he understood it was best not to make a snack out of the creature, which prompted him to release it."

Vivi's mouth dropped open in shock when hearing that Luffy could have almost died by eating something so deadly. As Vivi thoroughly freaked out, Wren got up onto her feet. She was adjusting her cloak, which had become wrinkled as she slept when Chopper suddenly became alert. Wren wasn't the only one to notice since Luffy looked down at the little reindeer quizzically.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked. "What's going on, Chopper?"

Chopper didn't reply at first as he climbed up on top one of the smaller rocks to get a better look at whatever triggered his animal warning senses.

"Something's coming and quick." Chopper said.

Wren frowned as she looked in the direction that Chopper was. She will admit that there was a bit of unease in her stomach. Almost like the feeling she received in Erumalu.

"Something…like what?" Usopp asked.

Wren stepped forward while grabbing Banshī, which she had left leaning against a rock nearby. She stared out at the horizon to see the wind was picking up and that there were several sand twisters that were much bigger than the one in Erumalu. Just then Ace woke from his sleep since it had been disturbed due to all the noise the wind was making. He got to his feet then moved to stand beside Wren.

"Heh, the wind's picking up." He said grinning.

He then looked down at Wren to see her pensive expression as if she was bothered. She was also a bit tense as if prepared for battle. Was her haki warning her about something? He wasn't picking up anything.

"Everyone!" Vivi suddenly shouted, which woke Sanji quickly. "Hide behind the rocks quick!"

"How come?" Luffy asked.

"A sandstorm is coming!" Vivi warned.

Ace didn't look all too worried about this sandstorm since he was gazing at it with an almost impressed expression on his face. Wren, who was still on edge, sighed when seeing that he wouldn't be moving, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed the strings of Ace's hat, and he grunted in surprise when she tugged him down to her level.

"I believe Vivi-san said to find shelter behind the rocks not gape at the sandstorm like a fool." Wren said sternly.

"Worried about my safety now, are you?" Ace asked grinned.

Wren narrowed her eye at Ace then shoved him towards the rocks beside their camp after she had let go of his hat strings. She then turned to Sanji who seemed stump on what was going on as Luffy commented about how cool the sandstorm looked.

"Sanji-san, we must seek shelter." Wren said as she held out her hand to him. "Please, come along."

"Anything for you, Wren-chwan!" He said.

He took her hand then let her help him up. They walked to get behind the rocks just in time as the sandstorm hit. Wren sat against the rock while looking forward in a bored manner as the sand whirled around them harshly.

"Okay, enough with the sand already. I'm not impressed anymore." Luffy, who was laying on the ground with a deadpanned expression, said as he held his precious hat to his head.

Wren just sighed feeling as if it'd be a while before this sandstorm stopped being an annoying pest to them. With that in mind she hunkered down while patiently waiting for the storm to past. She's traveled many places and seen and gone through many things many others haven't. She was used to having to deal with the elements, so she would just wait patiently for everything to quiet down since there was nothing else she could do.

"I should have mentioned it earlier." Vivi said as the tents were being ripped apart. "Sandstorms are another one of the desert's dangers."

"You've got to start remembering this stuff!" Usopp wailed.

He almost sounded like the screams caused by Wren's sword when she uses it to cut down her enemies.

"It is not like things can be changed now." Wren said simply and though she didn't shout, her voice carried through the wind. "You shouldn't waste your voice screaming. Just stay low and wait for everything to pass."

She brought her hood up over her head while drawing her knees to her chest. Sanji studied Wren while having the feeling that she was used to having to deal with nature. She wasn't fazed about any of this. The two then heard a snore from beside them, which had the two glancing at Ace to see he had fallen asleep.

"Fool." Wren scoffed shaking her head.

Her eyes then widened when Ace leaned against her in his sleep with his head on top of hers. Sanji's eyes widened as well, and he expected Wren to shove the older man away while waking him to yell at him about needing to respect people's space. However, she was surprisingly silent as she looked at Ace with an unreadable expression. She finally just sighed as she looked away with a displeased look on her face.

"What an annoying man." Wren said. "And a foolish one."

Sanji frowned as he wondered just how close Ace and Wren were. Wren acted as if the fire man annoyed her, but yet she was allowing him to basically use her like a pillow. He should be the one cuddled with the lovely Wren-chan! Sanji looked off to the side with his eyes burning with determination. He didn't care if Ace was Luffy's brother. Sanji would keep him far away from Wren as soon as this storm was over. No one was allowed to be so close to the lovely ladies on his crew except for him. He burned with determination to keep Wren away from Ace, and the very woman he was thinking about was looking at him with a quirked brow as his body was literally covered in frame.

"Since when did you devour the Mera-Mera no Mi?" She asked sweat-dropping.

* * *

The next day after the sandstorm was over, and then everyone had every packed up to leave, the group continued their journey. During their trek across the sand Wren started noticing that Sanji kept a lot closer to her side, and made sure she had little interaction with Ace as possible. She was starting to really wonder why. However, said nothing since she actually kind of feared the answer she might get.

"Hey, Sanji, let's have one of those boxed lunches." Luffy spoke up suddenly.

"Not yet." Sanji said. "Not until Vivi-san says so."

Luffy pouted because he felt as if he hadn't ate for days even if he had dinner last night. Luffy then smiled at Vivi while hoping to get her to say okay to them having lunch.

"Come on, Vivi, how about it?" He asked as he walked over to her. "Let's eat. Doesn't that sound good?"

"But we're not even a tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy." Vivi said. "And we have to make our supplies last the whole way."

Even without gorging themselves it was still possible to run out of supplies before reaching their destination. Wren knew that when dealing with terrain like this that anything could happen.

"Don't be silly, Vivi." Luffy said. "Haven't you heard the old proverb? 'Make sure you eat whenever you're hungry'."

Wren actually felt a small chuckle leave her lips as she smiled towards Luffy. It seemed trying to get him to think logically even in these conditions was impossible.

"Oh, quit making things up, ya big fat liar." Usopp said.

Sanji shook his head towards Usopp thinking the younger boy didn't have much room to talk.

"Okay, if you're that hungry, I'll tell you what." Vivi said. "Why don't we stop and eat at the next group of rocks we come by?"

Luffy's entire face lit up when he heard that because it sounded like a deal to him.

"Alright, rocks it is!" Luffy said then whirled around to face his crew and brother. "Onward to the next group of rocks! Okay, guys, whoever wins at rock-paper-scissors has to carry everybody's stuff!"

"Quit deciding things!" Usopp snapped.

Wren just remained silent as she wondered if Luffy purposely said the winner has to carry everything, or if he didn't understand that winning would be bad in this situation.

"Don't you mean the loser carries the stuff?" Sanji asked.

Luffy didn't reply as he got started on the game. Wren's crewmates all shouted at him to hold up as they ran forward to throw out their choices. Wren, however, remained beside Ace who was watching on in amusement when Luffy declared he won.

"He most likely won't be happy in a few seconds." Wren said.

"Probably not." Ace agreed as he chuckled.

Wren was proven right in a few seconds when Luffy was complaining about everyone giving their packs to him. They ignored him completely though, and even had Usopp build him a little wheel-less cart to pack the packs onto for him to pull.

"Wren-chan, allow me to place your pack with the others!" Sanji said as he ran over to her.

"It's alright, Sanji-san." Wren promised him. "I do not mind carrying my own pack. It's no bother at all. Besides, I did not participate in the game, so I have no right to place my pack with Luffy-sama."

Sanji was about to insist that she at least let him carry her bag since he didn't want her to wear herself out, but she just gave him a smile before walking on. He watched her go as the others started walking as well.

"I wouldn't worry about Wren." Ace said from beside Sanji. "She can handle herself. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time she crossed a desert, so carrying a pack won't be too much for her."

Sanji narrowed his eye at Ace as he remembered last night during the sandstorm that Ace was practically laying on top of Wren. Sanji didn't want to be hostile to a guest amongst them, but he didn't want the older man getting too close to Wren.

"How long have you known Wren?" Zoro asked as he glanced back at Ace and Sanji who were bringing up the rear of the group.

Well, actually Luffy was behind them since the weight of all the packs were slowing him down.

"Well, I met Wren a little after I joined the Whitebeard Pirates, so not long after I set off on my journey to be a pirate three years ago." Ace said. "After our first meeting, we had a few more run-ins. Each time she tried to take my head, or we fought."

Ace chuckled remembering all those times. There had been one time where she had to be carried away by Raelin during their fight since Doflamingo had been expecting them back in Dressrosa at a certain time.

"She fought a Whitebeard division commander and even tried to kill you?" Zoro asked grinning. "She obviously didn't seem worried about how Whitebeard might react."

Of course, he's noticed that Wren didn't seem like the easily scared time. She also didn't seem like the type to care who she pissed off.

"She's a fearless little thing for sure." Ace said laughing. "She let herself onto Oyaji's ship, and she kept herself standing tall in his presence even though some men might have cowered. She earned the respect of many of us division commanders, and Oyaji took a liking to her. Despite her reputation as a cruel and merciless woman, she has this charm about her that bring people towards her."

Sanji could believe that. Wren just seemed to attract people to her like a moth to a flame. Though at the time he had a feeling that people would run from her fire since they knew they could get burned.

"Besides, she's a real strong woman." Ace said. "She has faith in her skills, which gives her courage as well."

Not only was she a master swordswoman, but she had two of the haki mastered as well. Well, the second haki was still a work in progress at least that's what she told Ace the last time they fought. Sometimes she could use it, and other times not so much since it wore her out.

"Ya know, I've actually wanted to spare with her." Zoro said as he placed a hand on his Wado Ichimonji's hilt. "Test my skills against someone like her."

"Don't even think about it, ya shitty Marimo!" Sanji snapped. "You even think about harming a single hair on Wren-chan's beautiful head I'll chop you up and flambé you!"

Zoro turned around to glare at Sanji while ready to chop up the blonde cook himself.

"If he wants a fight, I will oblige."

Zoro whirled around to see Wren had dropped back to walk beside him. Sanji blinked wondering when she had gotten there. Ace grinned since he had noticed she moved back as they were talking.

"Once we're out of this desert perhaps we can have a spare." Wren said. "I have never fought anyone who uses three-sword-style. I am interested to see how you fight."

Zoro's grin returned as he nodded his head. Sanji's jaw just dropped while feeling worried about one of his lovely ladies fighting against Zoro. Zoro wouldn't hold back, and could seriously injure Wren. Zoro and Wren then started talking about the spar they were going to have as Sanji hung his head, but kept walking.

"Don't look so worried." Ace said as he chuckled. "She'll be fine. I'd be more worried about Zoro."

"I don't give a damn about that shitty Marimo." Sanji said as he lifted his head to glare at the swordsman.

Ace chuckled once more as the group continued to walk through the desert. When Luffy groaned from behind them, they all turned to see him really lagging behind.

"Heavy…so heavy." He said. "Why am I doing all the work?"

"You said the winner carries all, so shut up and haul." Sanji ordered.

"Make sure not to drop anything." Nami added.

Luffy hung his head while feeling a bit too tired to even take another step forward. Wren was about to offer assistance by conjuring one of her monsters to help, but Usopp's voice cut her off before she could even speak.

"Hey, guys, I spotted rocks dead ahead!" Usopp called out.

"Ya mean it?!" Luffy asked then zoomed past everybody. "It's lunchtime!"

Wren watched him go while having a feeling that it wasn't good for the Straw Hat captain to get too far ahead from the rest of them.

"We better hurry to catch up." Wren said. "Who knows what might happen with Luffy-sama all on his own?"

The others sighed hanging their heads while knowing a lot could happen if Luffy was on his own for even a few seconds. The damage might already be done. They started hurrying towards the rocks, so to catch up to Luffy. They were halfway there when Luffy suddenly came running back towards them.

"I need help!" Luffy shouted as he ran towards them.

Wren frowned at the urgency in his tone as she wondered what could have happened.

"That's weird." Usopp said. "Why's he coming back?"

"There's a whole flock of injured birds here that can't move!" Luffy said. "We need a doctor! Chopper!"

Chopper, who had been laying on the small platform Zoro was pulling him on, sprung to his feet despite how uncomfortable he was, he was a doctor after all. He had to put aside his tired feeling to help the injured. He hurried towards Luffy while holding his medical pack to his back.

"Alright, let's go, Chopper." Luffy said.

"Coming!" Chopper said.

"We've got to help these birds." Luffy said.

Chopper nodded then went to help Luffy with the birds when Vivi suddenly gasped.

"What birds?!" She asked. "Wait a minute, Luffy, those birds might not be what you think they are!"

Luffy paused in running back to the rocks to look at Vivi in confusion as did the others. Wren sighed though while having a feeling another one of the deserts many dangers had struck again, and that Vivi had completely forgotten to mention about it. The group hurried to the rocks after that, and as Wren looked around she saw no birds and no packs.

"All of our stuff is gone." Zoro said.

"We've been had." Nami added.

Yes, it appeared those birds were quite the actors, and managed to quickly steal most of their stuff during the time that Luffy was gone to get them. Wren was pleased that she still had her own pack. However, she didn't have enough supplies for all of them. She wished she did, but she was far from having enough for even half of them…for a day.

"But I saw them!" Luffy said as he pointed to where the birds had been laying. "There had been a whole flock of dying birds laying right there!"

"I believe you, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "However, I believe those birds were only pretending to be dying, so that you would rush to get help. They were… _playing possum_ , I believe the phrase is."

Luffy and the others—besides Vivi—looked at Wren with wide eyes. They then looked at Vivi wondering if Wren's assumption was correct.

"She is right." Vivi said. "And I am so sorry. I should have mentioned this earlier. Warusagi birds are desert bandits that deceive travelers and steal their belongings."

"You've gotta be kidding!" Luffy growled.

Based by Vivi's expression and the absence of their stuff, Wren would say that Vivi is not kidding in the slightest.

"You mean these birds play dead?" Usopp asked then snapped, "What a lousy bunch of crooks!"

He'd love to just get his hands on them to teach them a lesson about stealing from pirates.

"This is all my fault." Vivi said.

Wren was almost inclined to agree since the rest of them couldn't prepare for all these dangers if they didn't know about them. Wren has said it many times that information is important, and without it it's hard to prepare for things like this situation they were in now. However, Luffy shouldn't have left the packs behind either, but his kindheartedness seemed to compel him to run and get Chopper.

"Those birds tricked me." Luffy said frowning.

Sanji ran up to him to grab him by the front of his shirt to glare right at the younger boy.

"Luffy, you dolt, is that all you have to say for yourself?" Sanji asked. "There were three days' worth of supplies in those packs, and you just had to go and let a bunch of stupid birds rob us blind in the middle of a desert! How are we supposed to get across this wasteland without food or water? I hope you're proud of yourself!"

"Come on, it's not my fault." Luffy said. "I mean they outsmarted me."

Sanji got right in Luffy's face when the Straw Hat captain said that, and Wren sighed having a feeling that things were going to get worse.

"You mean you're dumber than a bird?" Sanji asked.

"What's that?!" Luffy demanded.

They started tussling on the ground while throwing childish insults at each other. Wren shook her head though supposed the heat was getting to them. Understandable. She found her patience running thinner and thinner the longer they were in the heat.

"Knock it off, you two!" Zoro ordered.

He then glanced back at Ace when the older man placed his hand onto Zoro's shoulder.

"Just save your energy." Ace said. "At times like this, it's better to just let them have it out."

Zoro sighed though supposed that was true, so he just grinned while taking his hood down.

"Fine with me." He said as he sat down on one of the rocks. "Let's just take a break. This heat is just starting to wear on everybody's nerves. I'm sure we'll manage food and water wise. It's nothing that will kill us right away. Let's put it out of our minds for now."

He seemed to fall into his first-mate mode pretty easily when the situation called for it, Wren noted. She then calculated the time it'd take to get to Yuba, which fell around three days. Well, the human body could go three days without water and three weeks without food, so as long as the heat of the sun doesn't kill them, they should make it to Yuba alive. Of course, three days without water might turn into two or one considering how much heat they have to put up with. Wren then sensed a few animal-like presences nearby, so she turned her head at the same time as the others to see those bird thieves standing there with their stuff.

"Oh, it seems they've come to taunt us." Wren said as one took a large gulp of water from one of the barrels.

She then smirked with a deadly look in her visible eye as she held out in hand in front of her.

"It'll prove to be a fatal mistake for them." Wren said. "Horā–Hor—!"

She never got to call forth her monster since Luffy's shouting cut her off as he ran after the birds. He shouted at them to bring back their stuff as the birds ran from him.

"No, Luffy, don't chase them!" Vivi called after the boy.

Luffy didn't listen as he got farther and farther away from the rocks and his friends, so to chase the birds.

"That idiot." Sanji complained.

"Wait, will you be able to find your way back?!" Nami called out.

"Come back here, you dope!" Usopp shouted. "Luffy!"

Again Luffy ignored his friends as he continued to give chase to those birds. Wren sighed then waved her hand to her side with a few of those Wolf Bats appearing beside her.

"Find those thieving birds, and bring back our things." Wren said. "You can eat the birds for all I care. However, our belongings come back in one piece. And please, bring the boy wearing a straw hat back with you unharmed."

The Wolf Bats made a few growling-squeaking noises before taking off into the air. As they flew up into the sky, Wren sat down on one of the large rocks.

"Now we wait." Wren said as she crossed one leg over the other.

* * *

A few minutes passed since Luffy had run off, and the others hadn't seen any sign of him. The Wolf Bats had even returned a few seconds ago with all their things, but they informed Wren through their telepathic link that they didn't see the Straw Hat boy. Wren sent them back out for another look as Nami was checking over to see if they had gotten everything back.

"It's a good thing you were here, Wren." Nami said smiling at the slightly older woman. "We have everything back thanks to you."

"Well, not everything." Wren said. "We are still missing our captain."

Nami sighed knowing that was true. She was worried about Luffy since the Wolf Bats hadn't been able to spot him. What if he had sunken into quicksand or something else like that? A few more minutes passed, and Wren's Wolf Bats returned again while shaking their heads to indicate that they hadn't seen Luffy. But something had caught their attention.

"Huge clouds of sand?" Wren asked.

They nodded their heads, and since they couldn't report anything else, Wren snapped her fingers to send them away.

"Did they see anything?" Zoro asked.

"They said there were two large clouds of sand coming this way." Wren said. "To them it looked as if there were two large masses underground burrowing under the sand, which sent the sand up into the air like a cloud. They also thought they could have heard screaming, but all the sand made it impossible to tell if there really was someone down below screaming."

Zoro frowned though had a feeling that Luffy might somehow be involved. The ground then suddenly started shaking, which had the others looking around in confusion.

"What's that?" Chopper asked.

Wren looked forward seeing the sand clouds that her Wolf Bats had mentioned.

"What on earth is that rumbling?" Usopp asked.

Wren tilted her head when the sound of cheering and shouting reached her ears. Usopp put his sniper googles on to get a closer look.

"Is it another sandstorm?" Usopp asked.

"I highly doubt it." Wren said. "I believe our captain has gotten himself into more trouble."

The others really hoped she was wrong, and hoped Usopp told them it was just another sandstorm. As Wren watched on, she noticed one of the sand clouds disappeared while the one to the right shifted over to get directly behind whatever it seemed to be chasing. This had her narrowing her eyes. Was the other one giving up, or was it planning a surprise attack?

"No wait…that looks like…it's Luffy!" Usopp said.

"Oh no." Vivi said. "It can't be."

Wren glanced at Vivi wondering what this desert danger was going to be this time.

"Huh…why is he on a camel?" Nami asked when Luffy came into better view for the rest of them to see.

"Someone want to tell me what the hell is chasing him?" Sanji asked.

"I can't really tell, but it looks like there's something in the sand burrowing after him." Zoro said.

And its companion had suddenly stopped, and had Wren wondering where it'd pop up next. The thing that was chasing after Luffy came out from underneath the sand to reveal a large purple lizard creature. As the others freaked out, Wren placed her hand on the hilt of her sword ready to spring into action.

"What is that?" Zoro asked.

"It's a Sandora Dragon!" Vivi explained.

"It's a what?!" Usopp asked.

"A Sandora Dragon." Vivi repeated. "They're the biggest reptile that live in the desert. They wait under the sand for their prey then ambush them. They have razor sharp fangs and claws, but they hardly ever use them. Because they're so incredibly huge, they usually just end up swallowing their victims whole!"

Wren really needed to sit Vivi down, and have her write out a listen about all the desert dangers there are, so they can prepare better for situations like this.

"I gotta admit that boy has a talent for attracting trouble." Ace said.

"Yeah, and all of us have the scars to prove it." Sanji said.

"What kind of crap star was he born under to attract trouble like that?" Zoro asked frowning.

He and Sanji then sprang into action, which meant that Wren would hang back. She still didn't know where that other one was, so she felt better staying with the group to make sure they'd be protected. Wren watched with the others as the three men attacked the Sandora Dragon once Zoro and Sanji got close enough. With one attack each from the three of them the Sandora Dragon was taken down without a problem. Wren's brow quirked while feeling a bit impressed. For rookies they were rather strong.

"They didn't have to go that far." Usopp said.

"Whenever those guys fight it almost makes me feel sorry for the monsters." Nami added.

The Sandora Dragon defeated by Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji hit the ground just as Wren sensed its partner was behind her. A split second later the second Sandora Dragon popped out behind Wren. Wren turned to look at it calmly as the others started freaking out.

"Another one?" Nami asked.

"I'm sorry." Vivi said. "I guess I must have forgotten to mention that Sandora Dragons always hunt in pairs."

Wren sighed as if this was just all a nuisance as her three crewmates told Vivi to get with it. Wren turned to face the Sandora Dragon completely as it roared.

"Oh no, Wren, Ace!" Nami shouted.

"Look out!" Vivi added.

Ace stood up beside Wren as the younger pirate placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"I can handle this." Wren said. "You just go back to napping."

Ace chuckled while not planning to sit back down. He wanted to have some fun too.

"There's a lot of pests in these deserts." Ace said. "You wanna play?"

The Sandora Dragon gave a roar, which had Ace's grin growing. However, before he could make his move, Wren jumped onto his head as if to use him as springboard to send her high over the Sandora Dragon.

"100 Wails!" Wren called out as she unsheathed her sword and slashed it down towards the Sandora Dragon.

Vivi and Wren's crewmates watched in absolute shock as this large cutting force that sounded like multiple voices screaming slashed clean through the Sandora Dragon's neck to cut its head from its body. Wren landed on the ground sheathing her sword as the head and body fell to the ground behind her.

"I told you I would handle it." Wren said as she looked at Ace as he was fixing his hat, which had been messed up when she used him as a springboard.

"Sorry, sorry." He said grinning as he placed his hat back onto his head. "I should know better than to offer help to Saturn Wren."

Wren resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Ace's teasing tone as their companions just continued to look on in shock.

"She…she…cut its head right off." Nami stuttered as tears ran down her cheeks.

"She's more of a monster than Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji combined!" Usopp added while looking pale.

Chopper nodded in agreement as Vivi remained silent. She looked closely at Wren while wondering how strong the older girl really was.

"Whoa!"

The group turned seeing Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had returned. Luffy was looking at the large lizard behind Wren and Ace with a grin.

"You guys killed one too, huh?" Luffy asked. "That's cool."

"We didn't do anything." Chopper said. "Wren did it on her own."

Luffy laughed saying that was even cooler as Zoro's eyes widened an inch. He had cut pretty deep into that other Sandora Dragon, but he couldn't cut all the way through its thick hide and body it one slice.

"It seems as if Sandora Dragon will be the lunch special today." Sanji said grinning.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as he jumped up and down.

* * *

Wren sat off to the side in the shade as Sanji was using the hot stones to cook the Sandora Dragon meat. Luffy had already stuffed his face with quite a bit of it. Wren had had some as well, and it actually tasted alright even if it was lizard meat.

"So now that we have a moment." Zoro began, "What the deal with the camel?"

"I don't know." Luffy said. "It was getting eaten by the mystery plants when I was chasing those birds."

"It's obviously not a wild camel." Nami said.

"No, not with a saddle or bridal." Vivi agreed.

Chopper looked curiously at the camel while walking over to get a better look at it. The camel looked back at Chopper as well with its eyes widening in recognition. It turned around to look back completely at Chopper who seemed to recognize the camel as well.

"Oh, yeah, it is you!" Chopper exclaimed.

The camel started to speak with Chopper as Luffy, who was still eating, walked over curiously.

"Really?" Chopper asked. "Good for you!"

"Wait, so you guys know each other?" Luffy asked.

"Uh-huh, he gave me a ride when I escaped from Katoria." Chopper explained.

That must mean he was used to giving people rides, which could come in handy.

"Hhmm, he's a passenger carrying camel." Usopp said. "That's sure going to make things a lot easier."

"Yeah, that ought to be a real help." Sanji added as he continued cooking the meat. "It looks like he can carry two to maybe three."

Wren would feel bad if they tried to have the camel carrying three at a time. There was no reason to work the poor thing to death.

"Camels do go hand-in-hand with deserts." Zoro said grinning.

"Great, I'll take the first shift." Luffy said.

He tried climbing onto the camel's back, but the camel bit him on the head to stop him.

"Ow." Luffy whined as he got back down.

The camel then started speaking, so Chopper stood beside him to translate what he was saying.

" _'I'm afraid I'm a hardboiled yet compassionate son of the desert.'_ " Chopper translated. " _'I'm very grateful to you for helping me out of that jam back there, and I'll be glad to give some of you a ride. But I'm afraid I don't accept male passengers.'_ "

His words got him a beating from Usopp, Luffy, and Sanji. Wren watched the scene while feeling a tad bit sorry for the creature. The boys stopped their beating, and the camel added something that Chopper translated.

" _'I'm too macho.'_ " Chopper said as the camel gave a grin.

The beating continued after that with Wren shaking her head. Her crewmates sure had a lot of anger, didn't they? After a few more seconds of abusing the camel, Nami stepped in to pet his chin, which had his eyes turning into hearts like Sanji's seem to do when the girls of the crew give him attention.

"I'm sorry my male crewmates are a bunch of ill-bred louts." Nami apologized as the camel got down for Nami to climb up on. "Now what should we call you, you great big precious camel, you?"

"Idiot." Luffy suggested.

"Moron." Sanji added.

"Doofus!" Usopp threw in his two cents.

Nami didn't listen to any of their suggestions as the camel stood up with her on its back.

"Eyelash it is then." She said smiling.

"Uh, how'd you arrive at that?" Zoro asked as he sweat-dropped.

"Because she decided not to listen to the other suggestions." Wren said. "Though if I had to pick a name, I think Cam-chan is better."

Zoro looked at her to see if she was serious, and when he saw that she was, he sweat-dropped once more. What was with the women in his crew?

"Wren, do you want to get on with us?" Nami asked after convincing Vivi to climb on.

"No, thank-you." Wren said. "I think asking Eyelash-chan to carry three at a time would be too much. And if I really get too tired, I'll just force—I mean, ask one of our crewmates politely to carry me."

"Politely my ass." Zoro grumbled.

Wren just smirked up at him as Ace was grinning off to the side at the entire scene.

"I'll carry you anywhere you want, Wren-chwan~" Sanji promised as he did a spin.

"I'll hold you to that, Sanji-san." Wren said only half-joking. "Now shall we get going? There is still much of the desert to cross."

"Yeah!" Everyone said as they nodded.

* * *

 **IMPORTANT NOTICE!**

Coco: Hey, everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I wanted to try my hand at an SBS corner. I'm not sure if many people would be interested, but if any of you have a question about Wren or this story or maybe even a few of my other OCs like Raelin then just leave a review or message me with a question you'd like answered. You can ask something like maybe what Wren's favorite tea is? Or something about her past that might not understand from the flashbacks already given? Or perhaps ask how I ended up creating Wren or any of my other One Piece ocs. Most of them are based off certain cultures or maybe even legends. And some of them were inspired by fictional characters I happen to like. If you want to know you can ask, or even take a guess at it if you think you know how I based my characters. Like, I said I don't know if any of your are interested, but I'd love to hear from you since I love speaking with my readers, so don't feel shy to ask a question if you want to. Once you ask a question the answer will appear at the bottom of the chapter at the end of every arc. :D Anyway, how you liked this chapter, and I hope to hear from you.


	15. Alone In the Desert

Wren blinked looking around her when seeing that she had gotten separated from the others. She had been ahead of the boys when she was trying to keep up with Nami and Vivi. Now there was no sign of the girls or the guys. She frowned wondering what she should do now. She couldn't sense anyone around her, which meant she had to have gotten pretty separated from everyone. She sighed supposing she'd just have to keep walking, and hope to find her friends.

She would summon one of her monsters to help her, but she felt so tired that she wasn't sure if that'd be the best idea. She'd just wear herself out even more. If she tired herself out to the point of exhaustion without anyone else around, she'd place herself in a real pickle. Well, standing around here wasn't getting her anywhere, so she started walking forward. Hopefully her haki could pick up a human presence along the way. If she doesn't find anyone before nightfall, she'd find a place to settle for the night then in the morning she'd be rested enough to use one of her monsters to give her a lift.

"Actually, I can probably make quite a bit of distance on my own." Wren said. "Still I can't help but worry about the rest."

She hoped they'd all be alright. She was sure that as a group that they could manage. Though considering how well they've been doing as a group so far…well, perhaps she should be really worried. Wren kept walking when she suddenly felt an animal presence near her. She turned her head seeing a large snake behind her, and it appeared to be a cobra of sorts since it had its hood fanned out. The large hood not only offered the snake shade, but Wren as well. She heard a rattling noise, so she moved to the side a bit to see this cobra had a rattling tail like a rattle snake.

"Hmm, the shade feels nice." She said nonchalantly even though the snake was hissing at her in a threatening manner. "I believe you are an Emperor Rattling Cobra, and your kind are classified as Type C creatures, which are large savage beasts. Such a scary thing, aren't you?"

As she asked this, she didn't seem worried in the slightest even when the Emperor Rattling Cobra flashed its fangs at her as a threat. Wren smirked not feeling concerned at all. She might not have the energy to conjure a monster, but she did have the energy to frighten this one into submission. Wren lifted her hand to her eyepatch a bit, and once the snake just caught a glimpse of her uncovered eye, it froze in fear with its rattle abruptly halting. It started to sweat with its heart pounding loudly even after Wren covered her eye again. It was just a split second, but the snake had saw something truly horrible in that black orb.

"You understand now, don't you?" Wren asked. "That I'm not someone to mess with, right?"

The snake nodded its head rapidly while hoping that she didn't try to attack it. The snake remained perfectly still as Wren continued to stare at it.

"Good." Wren said smiling. "Now, I need to find my friends, and you are going to help me by giving me a lift, understand?"

The snake nodded again then lowered its head down, so Wren could climb on top. Wren told the snake it could go, so it quickly started to slither across the desert. Since it was smaller than one of those Sandora Dragons it had greater speed than those lizards showed earlier when trying to attack Wren and her friends. Wren grinned while thinking she'd find the others in no time at all. She just hoped they didn't get themselves into too much trouble while she was away.

* * *

"Where is she?! Where is Wren-chan?" Sanji cried as he ran around in circles. "Wren-chwan!~ My love, where could you have gone?!"

Zoro frowned at the cook then looked back to their captain who was freaking out after apparently eating bad cactus. Now he had two screaming idiots on his hands.

"Would you shut up, Ero-cook?!" Zoro snapped. "I'm sure that woman is fine! She can handle herself!"

Sanji stopped his crying to turn his visible eye on Zoro as it was set in a glare. Usopp and Chopper sighed knowing those two were about to really get into a fight, which isn't what they needed right now since their captain is already freaking.

"She is out there all alone, and you heard Vivi!" Sanji said. "There a lot of dangers in this desert! Anything could happen to Wren-chwan or our other two lovely ladies. But at least Nami and Vivi have that stupid camel. Wren has no one to protect her!"

"She doesn't need anyone's protection!" Zoro retorted. "She took down one of those giant lizards on her own, and she has more experience crossing dangerous landscapes. Ace even said she's crossed deserts before."

Sanji growled ready to start pummeling Zoro with his feet. The green-haired bastard should be more concerned about the lovely ladies of their ship.

"She might be with Ace." Chopper pointed out.

Zoro and Sanji blinked down at the doctor, who was holding a needle, while noticing Luffy knocked out at his hooves.

"Ace?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah." Chopper said nodding. "He isn't here either."

Sanji's eye widened, and as he looked around, he saw that Ace really wasn't with them. That means Ace could be out there… _alone_ …with Wren. The word alone repeated in his mind as his visible eye started to twitch.

"That just makes things worse!" Sanji said as he pulled his hair. "We have to find them before that bastard can get too close to Wren-chan!"

Zoro and Usopp exchanged a glance as Sanji kept ranting about not wanting Ace trying to take advantage of Wren. They then shook their heads deciding they didn't wish to ask Sanji why he thought Ace would do such a thing.

"Let's just keep going." Zoro said as he grabbed Luffy by the ankle. "We need to catch up with Nami and Vivi then we can worry about Wren and Ace. Usopp, make sure that stupid cook follows us."

Usopp nodded his head then started pulling Sanji along even though he kept crying about Wren.

"Stop worrying so much." Usopp said. "I'm sure we'll see her before the sun even sets."

* * *

Wren looked up at the sky seeing that the sun was going down, and she still hasn't seen any sign of her friends. Hasn't even felt their presences. She was actually starting to get a bit worried. She let out a small sigh while guessing she should probably just find a place to bunk down for the night. It was the best option instead of continuing her search at night. Besides, reptiles and cold temperatures don't mix, and she knows that the Emperor Rattling Cobra would look for a place to burrow under the sand for the night very soon.

She looked around for any place that might work as a place for her to rest. She spotted a small cropping of rocks to her left. It wasn't as big as the last rock cropping she had stopped at with her friends, but it'd definitely work for her for the night at least.

"Head to those rocks there." She said pointing.

The Emperor Rattling Cobra turned in the direction she pointed with quick speed before stopping where Wren wished. Wren jumped down from its head while looking around. She could rest with her back against that curve in the rocks, which will keep her back protected. Then if a sandstorm came through that'd be the safest place to be. Wren let out a small sigh as she moved over to sit down against the rocks. She looked at the Emperor Rattling Cobra to see it was remaining near her side.

"Have you grown attached to me?" She asked with a quirked brow. "Or are you too afraid to leave?"

The large snake just lowered its head in a submissive manner then cautiously and gently nudged her with its heads in an almost affectionate manner. Wren pat the snake on the head while giving a sigh. Why did this creature suddenly become fond of her? She had even frightened it earlier, and was prepared to kill it if it didn't do as she wished. She was sure it knew that…yet now it was being affectionate. She didn't understand at all. Why would you show affection towards a terrifying creature such as herself?

"We both need to get some sleep." Wren said. "We'll leave early tomorrow morning."

The snake seemed to nod to her before it buried itself under the stand. Wren lifted her head to watch as the stars started to appear in the sky. It looked as if it'd be another clear night. That wasn't surprising at all. It just meant another cold night. Wren could handle the cold. It wouldn't be exactly pleasant, but she could handle it for the night. There has been plenty of nights where she would sleep under the stars on a cold night like this.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren looked up at the stars as the cool night breeze blew past her to ruffle her hair. She had one blanket around her shoulders to keep some of the chill at bay though it wasn't much._

 _"Wren-sama, aren't you cold out here?"_

 _Wren turned her head seeing Raelin standing there with a woman a few feet behind her. This woman was mostly cloaked in darkness, so it was hard to make out what she looked like._

 _"Not really." Wren said as she looked back up at the stars. "The cold doesn't affect much. Besides, it's such a nice night, and you can see all the stars. They're beautiful, aren't they?"_

 _Raelin looked up at the stars while humming in agreement to Wren's words. The stars really were beautiful._

 _"Yeah, yeah, they're pretty and all, but even the great Saturn Wren can catch a cold." The woman behind Raelin said. "You should head inside because you can be such a brat when you're sick."_

 _Wren let out a light laugh as Raelin scolded the woman for speaking so brashly to Wren. The younger woman didn't really mind if any of her subordinates spoke their mind. She wasn't like the other three who demanded complete and utter respect whether they deserved it or not. Wren was just herself, and tried to gain the respect of her subordinates. And just because they get a bit mouthy it doesn't mean they have no respect for her._

 _"I suppose I can be, Rosalya." Wren said. "But I'd like to stay out here a bit longer."_

-END OF THE FLASHBACK-

"Though I must admit it is a bit colder on this night than on the night back then." Wren said. "I might actually catch a cold."

She chuckled a bit as she said that before bringing out her blanket to put around her. She set her bag to the side then settled down against the rock.

"It's going to be a long night." She said to herself. "If I can't find the others soon, I'll just have to do something else with my time. I'm sure there are some villages in this area, and that means people who I can get information off of. I'll probably run into the others as I'm going around the area too."

At least that's what she hoped. She didn't want to be separated from the others for too long, but she was sure she'd find them…eventually.

* * *

"It's been two days." Wren said with a sigh as she rested on the snake's back while the sun was in the middle of the sky meaning it was midday…maybe a little later.

Over that course of time she has named her new snake companion Rattle-chan, and she hasn't sensed any of her friends. She wondered just how much distance there was between her and her comrades. She knew she was on the right course according to the map she had. She also knew that Nami and Vivi were most likely going on the right track since Vivi knew where to go. However, those boys…well, they're the ones that were worrying her. She knew for a fact that Luffy and Zoro had no sense of direction whatsoever with the latter being so bad that he can't keep in a straight line for more than five seconds.

Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper had better senses of direction. However, they weren't accustomed to deserts, and deserts were ever changing, so it wasn't hard for people not used to them to get lost. Ace could handle the heat and he had more experience in foreign areas since he's been a pirate longer. However, his narcolepsy could put him in some kind of sticky situation. She wished to find them to make sure they all got out of this desert alive. She's grown a bit attached to this small crew even though she only set out with them due to Raelin pleading. Then Ace...well, she might actually feel a bit bad if something happened to him...but only a little bit.

Wren knew being with them was only temporary. She also knew that being a part of their crew placed them in great danger since Doflamingo could set his sights on them the moment he learns they're allowing her to travel with them. She was just using them to get across this ocean, so to be reunited with Law again. Then she'd leave them…to go accomplish her own dream—if it could even be called a dream—which would most likely lead to her death. She's prepared to die…in fact, death seemed almost welcoming after everything that's happened. Yet she can't die until she accomplishes her goal…accomplishes _his_ goal.

"I have no right to worry about them." Wren said. "Or to care about them…not when just being near them can get them killed. And because I'm only using them for my own gain."

She shook her head trying to push those thoughts from her head as she continued to rest on Rattle's back. Even if what she says is true…she still wants to make sure they don't perish on these waters. Crews like them are hard to come by, and Wren would hate to see them die before they could accomplish their dreams. Which is why as long as she's with them she'll try to keep them alive. Maybe that way when she leaves…she won't feel as much guilt.

"Oi, Wren! Wren, is that you?!"

Wren came out of her thoughts when she heard the familiar voice of her captain calling to her. She sat up on Rattle's head as the snake came to a stop while seeing that the others were a little to the west from her. She saw Luffy jumping up and down as he waved, and Sanji was calling out to her as well with his eye in the shape of a heart. She even saw the boys were back with Nami and Vivi, which meant the crew was back together again. Wren jumped down from Rattle's back as the others hurried over to her.

"Wren-chwan, I'm so happy to see you're alright!" Sanji said as he ran towards her with his arms out.

He went to hug her, but she stepped to the side, so he ended up running right into Rattle. Sanji fell back onto the sand as the others sweat-dropped. Sanji blinked while looking up at the large snake in front of him. It looked like a giant cobra, but he could hear its tail rattling like a rattle snake.

"Is…is that an Emperor Rattling Cobra?!" Vivi exclaimed with wide eyes.

"What now?" Usopp asked.

"Emperor Rattling Cobras are the most deadly reptiles in the desert!" Vivi explained. "Not only are they highly venomous, but their extreme speed and strength makes it nearly impossible to survive once crossing their paths!"

Usopp, Nami and Chopper all squealed in fright as the blood froze in their veins for a moment.

"Wren, what are you doing with such a thing?!" Nami asked.

"Rattle-chan has been helping me get across the desert." Wren explained simply. "He has become my friend."

She reached up a hand, and the large snake leaned down to let Wren scratch his chin, which he seemed to enjoy if his wagging tail was anything to go by.

"Stupid perverted snake." Sanji grumbled as the glared at Rattle.

Rattle pulled away from Wren to hiss at Sanji in a threatening manner, but one snap if the fingers from Wren had Rattle lowering his head again in a submissive manner. She gave him a stern look, which had him looking almost guilty for what he had done.

"You tamed him?" Vivi asked looking freaked out.

Wren nodded her head, which had Vivi looking more shocked than before. She couldn't believe anyone could tame an Emperor Rattle Cobra yet Wren has.

"I just had to show him who's the bigger threat." Wren explained. "In the animal kingdom once you show you're higher on the food chain, it's easy to make animals do as you wish. You become the alpha in a manner of speaking."

Ace and Luffy nodded in an almost comically serious manner since they knew the laws of the jungle very well.

"Now, it is good to see everyone together again." Wren said. "What have I missed with your group?"

"Oh, Wren, it was so cool!" Luffy said as he got really close to her face. "First we met sand pirates! Then Vivi and I rode on a sand sled thingy! And after that we found Ace and fought against fake rebel soldiers who turned out not to be such bad guys in the end! And Ace brought us a lot more supplies, see?!"

He gestured to all the supplies they now had, and Wren guessed they'd be set to Yuba now since they still had their pervious supplies as well.

"Oh and we just got done eating one of those desert shrimps!" Luffy said. "Oh, I mean scorpion! You said it was scorpion, right?"

Wren nodded her head after Luffy filled Wren in on what's happened. However, Luffy's little relay on what happened…lacked a lot of specifics, and Wren's all about specifics when it comes to information. Ace chuckled when seeing her bothered expression. He placed a hand on her shoulder, so she glanced up at him.

"I'll give you the exact details later." Ace said. "It's just good to see you by the way. I was getting worried."

Sanji glared at Ace and his hand on Wren's shoulder as Wren quirked her brow at Ace.

"Worried?" Wren asked. "I can handle myself."

"I know, I know." Ace assured her as he grinned. "But friends worry about each other, right?"

Wren just narrowed her visible eye at Ace silently, and even if her expression wasn't friendly, Ace continued to smile while having a feeling he got the answer he was looking for.

"Remove your hand." Wren said finally.

Ace chuckled though did drop his hand away from her shoulder, so to appease her.

"And what have you been up to, Wren?" Nami asked.

"Well, I thought I could get pretty close to Yuba with Rattle-chan's help." Wren said. "However, with us all separated I decided not to rush to Yuba especially since the boys were on foot, which meant traveling much slower. So I decided to stay around the area. I traveled around in a ten mile radius of the last location I was with the boys, and came across a few small villages and runes. I then did what I did best, and looked for information."

Wren brought up a slip of paper that showed many notes taken down on it. Usopp let out an impressed whistle when seeing all Wren had gotten done during the last two days.

"Wren-chan, you're so amazing." Sanji said as he swooned.

Wren shrugged modestly since it wasn't much. Getting information from villagers wasn't hard since it wasn't like they were trying to keep secrets. All Wren had to do what put on a friendly smile, and ask a few questions that looked seemingly harmless. After that the answers came pouring in. Of course, she re-asked questions here and there since she knew how information could change from person to person. And with all the replies she had gotten she bases the truth on whatever was most in common in all the replies she had gotten for that one question.

"What did you find out?" Zoro asked.

"No much I'm afraid." Wren said. "Just things I was already aware of, or the villagers were so blind to what's really happening that their replies were only of naivety that was of no use to me since it was so far from the real truth."

She heard a lot of praises towards Crocodile, and how much of a godsend he was for the people. All they made him up to be almost made her sick to the stomach.

"They're all so blinded." Wren said. "It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for them."

Vivi frowned not sure if she really liked how Wren spoke about the people of Alabasta.

"It's just like Dressrosa." Vivi then heard Wren murmur softly.

Vivi saw a truly saddened look on Wren's face when she mentioned this Dressrosa place. Vivi frowned in confusion this time as she wondered what this Dressrosa place was like, and how Alabasta reminded Wren of it.

"Dressrosa?" Nami asked. "What's that?"

"Isn't that the kingdom you said your old captain is king of?" Zoro asked.

He vaguely remembers Wren mentioning it before they set out into the desert. Everyone looked to Wren as she let out a small sigh.

"Yes, it is." Wren said. "Donquixote Doflamingo has been the king of Dressrosa for eight years now, and all the people are blinded to the fact of what kind of man Doflamingo really is. It's just like here in Alabasta. All the people look up to Crocodile, and think of him as some kind of hero. Some also believe that their own king isn't fit anymore to be ruler, so they would gladly support Crocodile for the throne if he wished for it. However, what's taken Crocodile a few years to get to this point, it took Doflamingo one night."

She held up one finger, and the others' eyes widened in utter surprised when hearing this. Wren didn't count the time Monet was within the castle since her role for their plan didn't go into action until that night their crew made their move.

"In one night he completely upturned Dressrosa and had the king and his family hated by the people, and when the morning came, he became the new king of the country." Wren said. "And ever since then he's been sitting happily on the throne and doing as he pleases, and with his title of Shichibukai it allows him to rule Dressrosa legally with the power to call for the marines' aid if needed."

Not to mention what he has on the Tenryuubito, which has them practically putty in his hands.

"The same fate awaits this country if Crocodile isn't stopped." Wren said bluntly.

"And we are going to stop him." Vivi said confidently.

Wren just hummed in reply as she placed her information sheet inside her cloak. She'll look over it more when they make a stop for the night to see what looks like more liable information, and what might really help them.

"Well, if we wish to stop him, I suggest we keep going." Wren said as Rattle lowered his head.

She climbed on top of his head to sit down as Vivi and Nami climbed back onto Eyelash. They got going with most of the boys grumbling about having to walk.

"If you don't wish to walk, find your own desert friend to use as a ride." Wren told them.

"Yeah, now, stop your complaining." Nami added frowning.

"Devil women." Zoro grumbled.

Wren just chuckled as Nami asked Zoro to repeat what she just said as she glared back at him. Sanji then got involved by yelling at Zoro for calling Nami and Wren such horrible names. This turned into chaos that Wren was starting to get used to, so she just leaned back on Rattle's head comfortably.

"What a funny crew these pirates are." She murmured to herself.


	16. Scorpion the Mighty Bounty Hunter!

Coco: Hello, peoples, I just wanted to remind all of you that at the end of the Alabasta Arc that I will be doing an SBS corner, so don't forget to send in your questions, alright? I will answer them at the end of the arc :D

Also I am writing an additional One Piece Story that's like a side story I guess you can say for this one that will focus on Raelin and her adventures with the Heart Pirates :D So be looking out for that, alright?

* * *

Wren sat with the girls during breakfast a few days later while ignoring the rambunctious actions of Sanji, Usopp, Luffy, and Zoro. She wasn't even sure what they were fighting about this time. Rattle was curled off to the side snoozing with Eyelash, who had taken a liking to the snake, lying beside him.

"Why do they behave this way every time we eat?" Vivi asked.

"Just don't make eye contact." Nami warned her.

Wren didn't comment at all as she finished eating her breakfast. She set her plate and utensils to the side then happened to glance over at Ace who seemed to have finished as well. As she was looking at him, she could see the almost troubled expression on his face. He was probably thinking about Blackbeard. She knew it had to be frustrating at times for him to have to travel at the same pace as the group since she knew he could go much faster on his own just like she could.

"Ace is so calm and orderly." Vivi said. "He cleans his fork and plate after each meal."

"Makes me think there's hope for his gender after all." Nami said.

Wren almost snorted since they haven't been around Ace long enough to know he's not as calm and orderly as they think.

"Sure beats his incompetent brother." Nami added as she looked at Luffy.

Wren looked down at their captain as well as he was having his cheeks stretched out by Zoro.

"Ace is cut from a different cloth that's for certain." Nami said. "Judging by his well-mannered personality, you'd never guess he had a staggering bounty on his head."

"Ace has a bounty on his head?" Vivi asked.

"Portgas D. Ace: Wanted Dead or Alive." Wren said. "Overall bounty: 550 million beries."

Vivi and Nami looked at Wren with wide eyes with their mouths dropping in utter shock. Nami knew it was a lot, but she had no idea Ace was worth that much.

"He's worth that much?!" Vivi squeaked.

"Yes." Wren said nodding. "A lot of the people in the same waters Ace-san and I have sailed have bounties of 300 million or higher. Or at least they have captains worth that much while some of the lower crewmen are near 100 million or exceeding 100 million."

Nami's mouth dropped even more while feeling freaked out by the very thought of running into someone with a bounty that high that might want to kill them. Vivi then looked at Wren curiously.

"Wren-san, may I ask what your bounty is?" Vivi said. "Is it as high as Ace's bounty?"

"No." Wren said shaking her head. "Of course, my bounty had been suspended for a while, which means I couldn't build it up over the years."

"Suspended?" Nami asked.

Wren nodded her head as she crossed one leg over the other in a proper ladylike manner.

"When a pirate becomes a Shichibukai, their bounty is suspended because they become dogs of the government." Wren said. "And anyone on the Shichibukai's crew will have their bounties suspended as well. My bounty was suspended the moment Doflamingo agreed to become a Shichibukai. So even though my bounty has been reinstated it has remained at the same amount it had been when it was first suspended."

Nami nodded because that made sense to her. If the Shichibukai received protection for their services to the government, it only made sense that their crewmates received the same treatment. And if the bounties weren't suspended, it meant that bounty hunters and marine alike would continue hunting those pirates even if they are in service to the government.

"And what was your bounty frozen at?" Nami asked.

"90 million beries." Wren said simply.

Nami and Vivi's mouths dropped open once more in shock, and Wren blinked at their reaction.

"And how old were you when you received that bounty?" Vivi asked.

"I can't remember for certain, but I know it was in between when I was eight and ten." Wren said as she tilted her head. "Definitely before I was eleven."

Nami and Vivi couldn't believe what they were hearing. Wren received a bounty like that when she was just a child.

"However, I wasn't very threatening back then." Wren said as she chuckled. "The only reason it's so high is because of my devil fruit ability and who had indirection control of it."

Nami and Vivi looked confused when Wren said that. Wren lightly sighed as she frowned.

"The government and the marines were afraid of the influence Doflamingo could have over me." Wren said. "In other words they were afraid of what kind of monster Doflamingo would be nurturing, so even though I was so young they placed that bounty on my head. I didn't even have the stomach to hurt anyone back then…I was just a child, but I've been seen as a demon for nearly my entire life…and people fear demons, which also prompted the high bounty."

Nami and Vivi's eyes widened a bit when they saw the pain that seemed to shine in Wren's visible eye. Wren then shook her head as she put a small smile on her face.

"Though I'm sure with the skill and abilities I have now that I can actually live up to that bounty." Wren said. "Actually, I'd probably have a higher one."

"Well, I've never beaten you in a fight."

Nami and Vivi jumped slightly when Ace's deep voice sounded behind them, but Wren just calmly turned her head to look at him. He was crouched down behind the girls grinning, and Vivi and Nami blushed a bit in embarrassment since they realized he must have heard them talking about him. Wren felt no embarrassment whatsoever.

"I have never beaten you either." Wren pointed out. "Of course, we've never had a serious fight. You are either goofing off, or running away."

"You wouldn't want to face you head on either if you were me." Ace said. "You can be scary sometimes. Especially when you're angry."

Wren actually rolled her eyes, which had Ace's grin growing some as he chuckled.

"I am the Princess of Horrors." Wren pointed out. "If I wasn't scary, I would not be living up to my epithet, _Fire Fist-san_. Anyway, isn't someone of your stature supposed to be fearless? If one woman scares you so much, perhaps Whitebeard-san should find someone else to be the 2nd division commander."

Ace laughed not feeling insulted at all by Wren's jab since he was used to getting them. As he laughed, he didn't notice the heated glare he was getting from the Straw Hat cook.

"I'm not giving up my title as the 2nd division commander so easily." Ace said. "Especially not when I have such an important job to do."

When he said that, Wren lightly frowned. Yes, that's right…Ace is after Teach for what he had done to Thatch.

"I wanted to talk to you about that, Ace-san." Wren said as she reached inside her cloak. "If this lead of yours does not work out then you might need this."

She pulled out a small slip of paper with a number and a name on it to hand over to Ace who blinked. He took it from Wren to see it had "Raelin" written at the top then a number on the bottom. The paper moved a bit in his hand, so he immediately knew what it was.

"Raelin is my best informant, and I am giving you a way to contact her and find her to ask for her help." Wren said. "Just tell her who you are looking for, and she'll put out her feelers. I am certain she will find you something that will help you find Teach. Tell her it is a priority order from me."

Ace was silent for a moment as he held the paper tightly between his thumb and pointer finger. He then bowed his head deeply to Wren.

"Thank-you very much." Ace said. "Even saying that doesn't feel like enough to express how grateful I am feeling."

"Don't thank me." Wren said as she looked away. "I am doing this for Thatch…He was my friend too after all, and I rarely get the chance to help others with the information my informants and I gather…Just promise me that you won't let Teach continue running free."

Ace lifted his head to look at Wren as she looked up at the sky with a somber expression on her face.

"Right." He said as he smiled softly then adjusted his hat as a serious expression fell on his face. "I promise he won't get away with what he's done."

Wren nodded simply while dropping the subject. She and Ace just kind of sat there for a moment with Nami and Vivi exchanging a glance. It seemed the two were actually a lot closer than Wren let on in the beginning.

"We should probably keep moving." Wren said breaking the silence between the four sitting on the large rock. "We can't waste too much daylight."

Everyone—except Zoro and Luffy who were still fighting—agreed, so they prepared to move out. Wren helped Sanji collect the dishes as Nami put out the fire.

"Done." She said. "Well, it's time we get going."

"You may wish to tell those two that." Wren said as she pointed towards Zoro and Luffy.

Nami sighed shaking her head as those two kept arguing about a piece of meat that was already eaten, so there was no bringing it back.

"Knock it off you two." Nami said. "Right now!"

She hit them both over the head hard, which sent them to the ground with large swells on their head. Wren shook her head at the scene before going over to Sanji with the dishes she had collected.

"Thank-you, my dear." Sanji said as he grinned at her.

"You're welcome, Sanji-san." Wren replied with a small smile.

Wren then turned towards Luffy as he started talking about flying-talking meat, which made no sense whatsoever. His shouting had Rattle lifting his head from his curled up body as Wren blinked at Luffy wondering if the sun had gotten to his head. However, she soon sensed two small presences near, so she turned just in time to see the meat being taken away as it was seemingly floating through air, which Rattle noticed as well. Wren could tell it was on a fishing line though, and that there were two people behind the little theft.

"Wait, Meat!" Luffy shouted as he hurried after it while ignoring Nami's calls.

He just continued running after it as Wren and Ace exchanged a glance. It seemed he had sensed the two people as well.

"Rattle-chan." Wren said. "Pursue."

She snapped her fingers and the snake was already zipping through the maze of rocks after the meat.

"Huh, impressive." Ace said as he jumped down from his rock to stand beside her. "You've already gotten him well trained."

"It's not hard to train males of any species to do as I please." Wren said. "Every woman has a weapon to do the same as I."

Nami nodded in agreement as she was smiling, but Vivi just blinked seeming a tad confused. She was such an innocent girl.

"Oh?" Ace asked with a quirked brow. "You just use those beautiful womanly wiles of yours, huh? Can't say I'd blame a guy if he fell for your charm."

Wren was actually taken off guard by Ace's comment, and she tried hard to ignore the slight warming in her cheeks. However, two people noticed the slight pinkness in her cheeks, which were Ace and Sanji. The prior grinned when seeing the blush as the utter looked absolutely horrified. Wren then cleared her throat as she turned away from Ace.

"I am going after the thieves." Wren said. "You may do as you please, Ace-san."

"Then I'm going with you." Ace said automatically.

"Me too!" Sanji said as he jumped in between Wren and Ace.

He then sent a glare at Ace, and the older man chuckled when seeing the blonde chef was purposely trying to keep him from Wren. Wren sighed then hurried in the direction that she sensed the two presences. Ace was right after her, and Sanji was ignored when he told them to wait up. He watched them go with tears entering his eyes.

"Wren-chwan, is being taken from me by that flame head!" Sanji wailed dramatically.

His crewmates shook their heads at him as he curled into a ball of despair. Vivi tried to comfort him, but it didn't seem as if it was helping him.

"Come on, we have to go after them." Nami said frowning.

Ahead of them Wren and Ace soon caught up to Rattle who was coiled around the two thieves. He wasn't coiled tightly, but to keep them from running he was hissing threateningly. Wren got a closer look at the thieves seeing they were just children.

"Ah, so these two are the ones who stole from us." Ace said as he crouched down on the rock Wren was standing.

"It appears so." Wren said.

She then snapped her fingers again, so Rattle moved away from the two boys to go wait behind Wren loyally.

"Was the food to your liking?" Wren asked as she sat down properly beside Ace.

The older boy put himself between the younger boy and two pirates as they looked down at the children.

"Stay back!" He said. "I mean it."

Wren almost wanted to chuckle at how pathetically amusing it was that the boy thought those words could keep pirates at bay. The naivety of youth always amuses yet saddens her at the same time sometimes.

"You can't have the meat back!" the younger boy said. "We ate it."

Wren and Ace said nothing as they continued to look down at the two frightened boys. The older boy suddenly brought out a gun to point at the two, but Wren didn't feel very frightened considering how badly the boy was shaking. Even if he did pull the trigger, she doubted it'd hit one of them.

"E…Either of you move a muscle and your dead!" the older boy warned.

Ace grinned though the look in his eyes was quiet dangerous as he continued to look at the boys.

"As a general rule, I'm not fond of people pointing guns in my face." Ace said. "An even more important thing, however, is that I really don't like guns being pointed at my friends."

"Dip, listen!" The younger boy shouted. "Have you ever shot a real gun before? Will it really shoot bullets?"

The older boy, Dip, told the younger to hold on, and he went to shoot. His younger brother tried to stop him, but the gun went off with the bullet flying right towards Wren. Ace acted in a flash, and through a rock at the bullet to stop it in its track. Those boys stared in amazement while muttering about how amazing that was.

"I will admit that that was a bit impressive." Wren said calmly as those boys continued to stare with wide eyes.

She then jumped down from the rock, which had the boys jumping in fright since they had no idea if she was as strong as her companion.

"You two are playing a game not meant for children." Wren said with an almost stern expression on her face. "You do not fire a gun unless you know it will hit your target, understand?"

She then took the gun from the boys, which had Dip flinching since he thought she'd use it on them. However, she just emptied the chamber with the remaining bullets falling to the ground. They were then surprised when she tossed the gun up into the air and drew her sword. In a split second, it seemed as if she had only moved once before placing her sword back into her sheath. However, as soon as the sword clicked into the sheath the gun fell to the ground in multiple pieces.

"They're strong…I've never seen anyone like them." The younger boy said. "Are they going to hurt us?"

Just then the others caught up to see what Ace and Wren had found, and Nami was surprised to see it was two kids.

"What's up?" Usopp asked. "Who are they?"

Wren was about to reply with an "I have no clue", but stopped when the two boys ran up. The younger one grabbed her cloak as Dip looked up at Ace pleadingly.

"Please, sir, miss, my brother—Chip—and I have a favor to ask you!" Dip said.

Chip nodded his head as he gave Wren a pleading expression as well while continuing to hold onto her cloak.

"There's someone we need you to find and catch for us, please!" Dip pleaded. "It's important."

Chip nodded again as Wren and Ace exchanged a glance. What had they gotten themselves into by going after these boys?

"I can give you a reward!" Dip said. "If you catch him for me, I'll pay you a million beries!"

"A million beries?" Nami asked.

Wren looked at the boy with a quirked brow while noticing he didn't seem as if he could have a thousand beries let alone a million.

"Yes." He said then looked down. "I can't pay either of you right away, but I will as soon as I grow up, I promise."

"I'll help too!" Chip said nodding as he looked up at Wren still. "Please, miss, help us find him!"

Wren tilted her head to the side as Dip brought out a ripped picture of a middle-aged man.

"Help us find this man!" Dip said.

Wren took the picture from him to get a closer look, but she wasn't really interested, so she passed the picture over to Ace.

"My brother and I have been on his trail, and we know he's close." Dip said. "We followed him from the badlands."

"We need more details." Usopp said. "What's his name?"

"Scorpion…he's a bounty hunter." Dip said.

Wren doesn't believe she's ever heard that name before, and if she did, he was probably some nobody, so she pushed his name to the back of her mind to be forgotten.

"Hold on, you sure?" Zoro asked.

"What possible reasons could you two have for wanting to chase a bounty hunter?" Nami asked.

Dip and Chip exchanged a look before looking down at the ground. Wren narrowed her visible eye a bit when seeing they weren't willing to give up much information.

"Not going to answer, are you?" Wren asked. "Then I have no reason to help. I don't like doing favors that don't benefit me, or do not interest me. I'm even less inclined to give assistance if I don't have any and/or all information possible at the task in hand."

Dip and Chip bit their lips guessing it was a long shot to get help from these people.

"Actually, Wren, this might interest you a lot." Ace said.

Wren looked at Ace with a questioning quirk of her brow as he continued to look down at the photo.

"This is the man I came to see." Ace said, which had the others looking at him. "The man who defeated Blackbeard is somewhere in Yuba…He goes by the name Scorpion. My whole purpose of traveling to Yuba is to meet his man."

"That guy…defeated…Blackbeard?" The others—besides Wren—asked in unison.

"No way!" Usopp said. "I don't believe it."

Wren frowned as she took another look at that photo once more. This is the man who supposedly took down Teach? Teach was rather strong…even if he could be a coward.

"I don't know, Ace." Usopp said. "He doesn't look the type. Do you really think this is the guy who beat up Blackbeard?"

"Not sure." Ace said. "The only way to find out is to meet him face to face."

And he knew that even if this was a bust that he still had Raelin's Vivre Card along with her den-den mushi number thanks to Wren, which means he'd have help looking for Blackbeard this time.

"Ace?" Chip asked. "Wait, you don't mean the really…"

"The real Fire Fist Ace." Dip finished saying.

Suddenly Ace and Wren both sensed three new presences, and one didn't feel human like. Ace stood up on the rock he had been crouched on as Wren stood more at alert.

"What is it?" Usopp asked.

"There's two." Ace said. "…and maybe a bird."

Wren closed her eyes concentrating harder on trying to use her haki to distinguish the presences she was feeling.

"Definitely a bird, and the other two presences seem to be riding it…so a large bird." Wren said.

The others exchanged a look of confusion since they had no idea what Ace and Wren were talking about. However, Zoro narrowed his eyes a bit because this has happened with Wren before. She would sometimes sense something before it came into view, and could tell the others what it was or who and how many. He always wondered if she just had really good instincts, but he's starting to believe it's something a little more. Chopper's nose then twitched as he picked up three scents of what Ace and Wren were sensing.

"Chopper?" Nami asked.

"They're here." Chopper said.

A small dust cloud appeared over a sand dune before an ostrich came into view with a man riding on it. It seemed as if there was a person behind him as well, but his face was blocked. However, Wren had a feeling she knew who else was on the large bird.

"I've come for you, Fire Fist Ace!" The man said. "I'm the Scorpion. A true and indomitable hero! I traveled a great distance to challenge you! I expect a fight fair and square!"

Wren frowned a bit while noticing the man seemed to be nervous. He obviously didn't have nerves of steel.

"It's him…that's Scorpion." Vivi said.

The second person on the bird leaned over to be seen, and Wren wasn't surprised to see it was Luffy.

"Oh goody, you're all here!" Luffy said.

"LUFFY?!" Vivi and the crew—besides Wren—exclaimed.

"Why are you riding with the Scorpion?!" Sanji demanded. "He's the enemy!"

Wren's learned not to be very surprised by situations that seem unexplainable when it comes to this crew, so she just tilted her head curiously. She wondered how this was going to go. She took note that the mighty Scorpion seemed nervous, which had her certain that no one like him could have taken on Teach. Even if the large man was a coward, he was strong. Not as strong as the Whitebeard commanders, but he had definitely been a strong member of the crew though he worked underhanded most of the time to claim most of his victories in battles.

"Hey, Scorpion, what's wrong?" Luffy asked the man.

Scorpion seemed to snap out of his stupor when Luffy asked that question before he started laughing.

"Hahaha! So sorry, but this is the day that your luck runs out!" Scorpion boasted. "All those heroic songs and tales your supporters flatter you with ends today."

"I had no idea there were songs about you, Ace-san." Wren said flippantly.

Ace chuckled as he placed one hand on top of his hat, and the other on his waist.

"No, please turn back." Wren heard Dip plead.

She glanced at the boy then back at the Scorpion as Luffy was getting excited about this fight.

"Ace, this is a serious fight, so don't pull any punches!" Luffy called out.

"I wasn't planning to!" Ace retorted loudly. "Before we fight there's something I wanna know!"

Scorpion ignored Ace and his question, and had his bird charge forward to attack. Luffy jumped off the bird to get out of the way as Ace rushed forward to engage Scorpion in battle. Wren sat back down on the rock to get comfortable to watch this fight. Though she is certain it won't last long.

"You're finished!" Scorpion shouted then fired an iron net from the gun.

Ace just chuckled not looking worried as the net started going around him. He let out a blast of fire that sent the iron net away from him, and back towards Scorpion. He hit the ground as the net incased him while crying out in pain since the net was hit from Ace's fire.

"Whoa, Ace just threw the net back at him!" Usopp exclaimed.

"I don't think it was that impressive." Wren said truthfully. "This Scorpion man just isn't good at his job as a bounty hunter."

Zoro had to agree with her there. This man didn't seem to really know what he was doing. Scorpion got the net off of him with his clothes and some of his skin singed from the hot net. He looked back at Ace who still had flames licking on his shoulders.

"Hahahaha!" Scorpion laughed despite the situation. "I guess I should be thankful. If defeating you were easy, it wouldn't be much of a victory!"

Well, at least he kept his upbeat personality despite the situation he was in. Wren had to give him points for that if nothing else.

"Oh yeah, well, you have some skills yourself." Ace said.

Scorpion got back onto his feet as everyone continued to watch the fight happening in front of them.

"I'm glad you approve because this fight isn't over!" Scorpion declared. "Popo, the Prescorraci Rifle!"

The ostrich then ran by to place something in front of Scorpion as Rattle watched the bird go. It looked like a tasty snake to the large snake. Scorpion put together this odd looking rifle of his as he got ready for another attack.

"A…what rifle?" Usopp asked.

"Does it even work?" Sanji asked.

"I suppose we'll see in a moment." Wren replied.

Scorpion started running forward telling them not to be fooled by the gun's appearance. He then shot at Ace who dodged easily, and Wren's brow quirked when acid was shot out of the gun. And the acid was so strong that it melted the rock it had landed on.

"Hmm, interesting." She said.

Ace dodged Scorpion again by jumping high into the air to land behind the bounty hunter. Scorpion whirled around to start shooting again, but Ace dodged every time before getting right in front of Scorpion to punch him right in the gut. The older man stumbled forward before falling to the sandy ground into the dip of the dune.

"It was a nice try, but you never stood a chance, my friend." Usopp said.

Wren frowned supposing that was that. The Scorpion was just all talk with nothing to back up his claims.

"I suspected as much." Ace said. "You lied about beating Blackbeard, didn't you? You figured using his name would draw me out into the open. Am I right?"

Scorpion let out a weak chuckle as his hands clenched the sand in front of him.

"That's right." He confessed as he struggled to get up. "A clever deceit. I say that the first round was a draw."

"How did he come to that conclusion?" Wren asked looking truly miffed.

Scorpion hadn't landed on hit on Ace, and one punch from Ace had the man struggling just to stand.

"Now it's time to get serious." He said as he rolled over onto his back.

"STOP!" Dip suddenly called out.

Wren and the others looked towards Dip and his brother got up from their hiding place by the rock.

"You can't beat him, father!" Dip said.

The others—but Wren—looked surprised when the boy called the Scorpion father, but Wren wasn't too shocked. She figured if two boys had business with a bounty hunter it was because they were of some relation.

"Did he say father?" Luffy asked.

Scorpion coughed from his place on the ground before lifting his head to look towards the boys.

"Son, I'll be fine." He said.

He was then surprised as the boys ran towards him then slid down the sand dune.

"Stop the fight!" Dip shouted.

They stopped in front of Scorpion who was starting at the two of them with wide eyes.

"Chip, Dip." He said.

"Father!" They exclaimed in unison.

"You don't have to do this." Dip said. "Fire Fist Ace is too powerful!"

Scorpion reached up to place a hand on Dip's head as he looked at his two sons.

"What are you two doing here?" Scorpion asked them. "Why aren't you at home? Why did you leave the badlands?"

Well, if Wren was living in a place like the badlands, she would leave in a heartbeat. Of course, she supposes she has just gotten used to living in luxury in between her many missions and brokering business, which is why living the badlands sounded… _bad_ to her.

"Please, we understand now what you've been trying to teach us." Dip said. "This battle is too much for you! You've gotta come home!"

Dip and Chip both just wanted their father back where it was safe and sound, so they didn't have to worry about him, and so they could be a family again.

"Don't be silly." Scorpion said as he chuckled. "Remember, boys, I'm the world's greatest bounty hunter after all. If I've said it once I've said it a million times. I've fought the meanest and toughest men around, and I bested everyone."

"Dad, you don't have to lie." Chip said bluntly.

Scorpion seemed surprised by the blunt remark at first before he let out a laugh of amusement.

"You found me out." Scorpion said as he grinned slightly. "The truth is I'm a terrible liar, and a terrible father to boot. But there is one thing that's true, and if you remember nothing else I've taught you, remember this: even the most insignificant person can rise up to challenge the greatest hero if he believes in himself. That is the entire reason I did this…to show you…to show you boys to follow your hearts' desires. Men need dreams. Goals that burn deep inside them like an eternal flame. That is what sustains us all! Ambition! Always challenge what others say can't be done. Even if it seems impossible, belief, and life will deliver paradise."

He then gave a slight laugh as he continued to pat Dip on top of the head affectionately.

"Forgive me, the only way to get you to see this truth was to put my life on the line." Scorpion said as he started to get up. "My sons…always follow your heart."

Scorpion then turned to face Ace once more while ignoring Dip who asked him to wait. Wren continued to watch on with the others with an unreadable expression on her face, which made it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

"Watch and learn!" He said. "Witness your father's unconquerable spirit."

He then started up the sand hill towards Ace, as a slight frown appeared on Wren's face. Even now this man still planned to fight? It was obvious to everyone that he was no match for Ace. He should come back in a few years after some intense training and try again because there was no way he could win now.

"So long as I hold onto my dream, I won't back down." Scorpion said then spoke directly to Ace. "Do you hear me, Ace?! Popo, the bazooka!"

The ostrich, Popo, ran by while placing a bazooka at Scorpion's feet as he passed. Scorpion placed the bazooka on his shoulder as he took aim at Ace.

"Prepare yourself." Scorpion said. "This is in the end."

He lit the wick at the end of the bazooka while completely serious about finishing this self-given mission of his. However, his aim was thrown off when those boys grabbed a hold of him to stop him. They pleaded at him to come home, and it seemed their words got to him…because he completely forgot about the bazooka being ready to fire…and dropped it to the ground to hug his sons.

"That fool!" Wren said as she jumped to her feet.

Wren hurried forward, so fast that her friends didn't realize she passed them until the bazooka hit the side of one of the large rock pillars, which set it off.

"Wren-chan!" Sanji exclaimed while rushing to stop her as the rocks started falling towards Scorpion and his sons.

Wren slid down the sand dune quickly with Ace and Luffy's eyes widening when they saw her. Wren had her hand on the hilt of her sword as she prepared to draw it.

"Wren!" Sanji shouted as he went to slid into the dune as well.

"Sanji, stay back!" Luffy ordered as he ran forward ready to attack though the blonde ignored his captain, but it didn't seem as if he'd be fast enough.

"No, I've got it!" Ace said, which had Luffy stopping. "Fire Fist!"

A huge wave of fire shot out from his fist to knock back the rocks, but the force of the flame destroyed the large rock pillar as well. Wren looked calmly up at the fire, and when she saw some rocks still falling down towards her, Scorpion, and the boys, she drew her sword.

"1,000 wails!" She shouted then sliced upwards.

A thousand screaming voices cut through the air as the rocks were being cut up into smaller slabs that fell away from them. Dust entered the air as the rocks hit the sand. As it cleared, Wren sheathed her sword. Sanji, Ace, and Luffy hurried over to see if she and the others were alright.

"Wren-chan, are you alright?" Sanji asked hurrying to her side.

He gently grasped her shoulders while looking over her for any sign of injury.

"I'm alright." Wren said then glanced behind her as Scorpion sat up from where he had crouched over his sons to protect them. "They seem to be as well, and I'd say this foolish behaving is over now."

* * *

As the sun was setting, Wren stood with her crew and Vivi as they were seeing Ace off.

"You're not really going to leave us, Ace, are you?" Chopper asked.

"Yep, seeing how it's been confirmed that Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta I have no reason to stick around." Ace said.

Well, Wren wasn't going to miss him, so Ace could leave whenever he wished to.

"You sure?" Luffy asked.

"Any idea where you'll be heading next?" Sanji asked.

He wasn't so sad to be seeing Ace leave since that meant the older man would be away from Wren.

"I'll be heading out to find Raelin." Ace said. "I'm sure if anyone can find me information on Blackbeard, it's someone that Wren trained to gather information. I'll call her first, so she knows to stay around the same area for a little while."

The sooner he finds her the sooner he can try to get information on Blackbeard. He also knew how to approach her, so not to gain too much attention. He knew that whatever Wren was planning had to be big, and he doesn't want to mess that up for her.

"By the way, Luffy," Ace began as he grabbed a folded sheet of paper from his cloak. "Here."

He threw the paper at Luffy who caught it with a look of confusion on his face.

"Hey, do yourself a favor and hold onto that." Ace said.

Wren knew immediately what Ace had given Luffy, but none of her comrades had a clue.

"But it's just a scrap of paper." Luffy said.

"That scrap of paper will reunite us some day." Ace said.

Luffy didn't look very convinced as he unfolded the piece of paper to look at it curiously.

"You don't want it?" Ace said. "Then give it to Wren. I wouldn't mind being reunited with her instead."

He grinned over at Wren who gave him a glare in return, which had him chuckling. Nami exchanged a glance with Vivi before they giggled a bit.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Sanji demanded as he pulled at his hair. "Just how close are you two?!"

Ace just continued grinning as Wren wondered what had Sanji so worked up. She didn't understand his outburst at all.

"Nah, I'll keep it." Luffy said while ignoring Sanji's outburst.

"It's perfectly natural for a guy to worry about his bungling kid brother, right?" Ace asked. "He might be a bit much for you to handle, but please take good care of him for me."

He then looked towards Wren for a moment while looking as if he wanted to add something. However, he just shook his head as he looked away. Wren frowned at him wondering what was going on through his head.

"Luffy, when next we meet, we'll both me top pirates." Ace said.

"Right." Luffy said grinning.

"The top…you and me." Ace said grinning as well.

The group then turned their heads when Chip and Dip called out to them in farewell. Luffy waved goodbye as the others smiled. However, Wren's attention was brought back to Ace as he stepped closer to her. He gave her a serious look as he peered down into her face.

"Be sure to look out for yourself, Wren." Ace said. "I hope that this isn't the last time I see you."

Before Wren could retort that what happened to her was none of his business, Ace shocked her by putting his arm around her shoulders to bring her in for a brief hug. Her eyes widened while unsure what to do. She hasn't received a warm hug like this in years.

"Stay safe." Ace said.

He then let her go and left as the others were still distracted. Wren stood there with her visible eye still widened. She didn't even hear the others, who finally realized Ace was gone, as they asked where the fire man went. As Wren stood there she wondered…did so many people really want her to live?


	17. Finally Reaching Yuba

Coco: Okay, guys, just a few things to discuss~

1) Don't forget to ask questions for the SBS corner that will be happening at the end of this arc!

2) I am posting the Raelin side story tonight, which is a Law/OC(Raelin) story. I hope you check it out and like it.

3) I will be adding my own mini arc in between the Alabasta Arc and the Sky Island Arc. It will be to introduced one of Wren's informants that will later be paired with Zoro. I was going to add her in after the time skip, but decided against it. And I decided to make her immediately fall for Zoro. Well, almost immediately. Like, I've never had a character who fell head over heels for another at nearly first sight, so I want to try my hand at it. She'll love and act towards Zoro like Hancock to Luffy. Or a better example would be Juvia and Gray's relationship from Fairy Tail.

Anyway, that's all the announcements for now, and I hope you like the new chapter!

* * *

A few days passed since Ace left the Straw Hats in Alabasta's desert, Wren was walking behind the group to keep an eye on all of them since she didn't want them to be separated again like yesterday. Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper had gotten separated when Luffy started freaking out, and Wren didn't want anything like that happening again. Rattle was helping her look after the group as he slithered behind her to give her shade though before long the sun would be completely set.

"Hey, Luffy." Usopp, who looked completely worn out, called out. "What was that thing your brother gave you?"

It's been bothering Usopp for a while, and he finally just had to ask to get some kind of answer.

"I don't really know." Luffy said as he pulled the paper out. "It just looks like a scrap of paper."

"It's a Vivre Card." Wren said from the back.

The group paused to look back at Wren, and she came to a stop as well to look back at them.

"A Vivre Card?" Chopper asked. "What's that?"

"Well, a Vivre Card—also known as the "paper of life"—is a piece of paper made of a person's fingernail." Wren said. "It might sound odd, but this paper will point you back to the person it was made from."

"It will point me back to Ace?" Luffy asked.

Wren nodded her head then moved forward to stand in front of Luffy. She had him hold out his hand flat before placing the Vivre Card down. She stepped away with the others gathering around. They watched in amazement as the card moved across Luffy's hand without him touching it, and there was no breeze to move it either.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"So no matter where Ace is this card with point Luffy in his direction?" Nami asked.

"That's correct." Wren said nodding. "And Luffy-sama won't have to worry about the paper getting wet or catching fire since it is both water and fire proof. He can also rip it into pieces to give to others if he so wishes, and the paper will still work as it is now."

Nami couldn't believe such a paper existed in this world, but she's learned recently that the Grand Line has all sorts of new things to discover.

"Also this paper represents Ace-san's life force." Wren added.

"His life force? What do you mean?" Sanji asked.

"As long as Ace-san is in good health and not near death the paper remains whole." Wren said. "However, if he were ever to be gravely injured and/or on the brink of death, the paper would start to burn away…and if he were to die, the paper would vanish to no longer exist."

It was silent for a moment as Luffy looked down at the paper in his hand as it continued to move in the direction they had left Ace in.

"Then this paper really is important." Luffy said. "I can't lose it."

So to keep it safe Nami sewed it into the inside of Luffy's hat ribbon since that was the safest place to keep it.

"Where do you get something like a Vivre Card?" Usopp asked.

"In the second half of the Grand Line." Wren replied as the group resumed their trek across the desert. "I have one myself, and so does Raelin."

"Wait that piece of paper you gave Ace…was it actually a piece of Raelin's Vivre Card?" Nami asked.

Wren nodded her head as the group kept moving along in hopes of reaching Yuba soon.

"And Raelin has a piece of my Vivre Card." Wren said. "Pieces of my Vivre Card was actually given to seven others as well."

But she hoped one of those seven would lose her Vivre Card since that person is now an enemy.

"Seven people?" Zoro asked. "Is there any left of it?"

"Yes." Wren said. "When you have a Vivre Card made, you can make it bigger than the piece Ace-san gave to Luffy-sama. My Vivre Card was the size of a full sheet of paper. I still have half of mine left with me."

And she wouldn't give it out so carelessly like she had done the first time she had it made.

"Hey, you guys, we're close now." Vivi cut in. "Yuba's just beyond those rocks there. One last push, and I'm sure we'll make it!"

Luffy cheered then ran forward with the others quickly following. Wren followed at a slower pace while wondering if Ace had gotten out of the desert yet, and if he had gotten a hold of Raelin.

* * *

In another part of the ocean, under it in fact, was a yellow submarine that was making its own way through the Grand Line. In the busy kitchen of the submarine, a blonde woman was bustling about to get dinner prepared for twenty hungry men. She paused in cooking when she heard a "purururupururur" enter the air. She turned her head seeing her personal transponder snail ringing.

"Who could be calling me?" She asked herself.

She wiped her hands clean then walked over to the snail to pick up the receiver.

"This is the Knight." Raelin spoke in the receiver. "Who is calling?"

"Knight?" A familiar voice asked. "This is Flame. I was told by a mutual friend, who I ran into recently in Alabasta, that you could help me dig up some information."

Raelin grinned when hearing Ace's voice, and when he said "mutual friend", she knew he was speaking of Wren. And if he's recently seen her that means Wren must be doing well.

"Oh?" Raelin asked. "What kind of information are you looking for?"

"It's something I'd rather discuss in person." Ace replied. "Finding you shouldn't be a problem, but it might take a bit longer if you remain mobile."

Raelin, who knew Ace had to have a part of Vivre Card, hummed in response then looked at the list she had beside her that was a list of groceries and where she would be getting them. It was an island she's been at before, and she knew for a fact it took quite a bit of time for the log to set there.

"I can manage that." Raelin said.

"Excellent." Ace said, and Raelin could hear the grin in his voice. "I look forward to seeing you, Knight."

"Yes, it will be nice to see you as well." Raelin said. "I always enjoy catching up with old friends. Until then."

She then hung up just as a two-leg walking polar bear wearing orange jumpsuit poked his head through the kitchen door.

"Raelin, were you speaking with someone just now?" He asked curiously.

"Just to an old friend, Bepo." Raelin replied. "Can I help you?"

"The captain wishes to speak with you." Bepo replied.

Raelin gave a sigh since she was rather busy making dinner for said captain and the crew. Couldn't he wait until she brought him dinner as she usually had to? She frowned knowing if she kept him waiting, he'd only get annoyed, which would lead to her getting even more annoyed.

"I'm starting to regret joining this crew." Raelin muttered to herself as she took off her apron to hang up. "I thought watching out for that guy would be good for Wren-sama, but he's starting to grate on my nerves. I'm sure that Trafalgar Law will be the death of me."

She didn't know how Wren put up with the man let alone called him her brother. And thinking about Wren had Raelin wondering if her mistress was doing alright. She also wondered what Wren was doing in Alabasta. Going there might result in her having to deal with Crocodile, which means having to deal with Elspeth as well.

"Is Wren-sama making a move on Crocodile?" Raelin asked herself as she walked past Bepo, who was confused by what she was talking about, out the door to head for Law's room. "And if she is…then things are about to be shaken up in Alabasta."

And Elspeth and Wren would definitely cross paths if that were the case, and Raelin was a bit worried about how things might end when they cross paths.

* * *

Ms. Halloween let out a sigh as she walked ahead of Bon Clay and four of their subordinates. The four men were dancing and singing and annoying tune that Ms, Halloween was trying to block out. Ms. Halloween saw the Spider Café in view, which meant she soon would be relieved of this song. She made it to the door while opening it, and stepping to the side so Bon Clay could make his grand bow. He'd kick up a fuss if he wasn't allowed to do it.

"Hello, to all," He began as he bowed. "And how are you today?"

He came out of his bow while smiling grandly as Ms. Halloween let out a sigh.

"You're a freak." Paula said breaking the silence.

"I am not a freak, Paula!" Bon Clay snapped then danced over to her. "I am merely a talented dancer practicing my craft. One sparkling water for me, please, and sweets for my precious partner."

Ms. Halloween frowned at being called precious, but she said nothing as she sat down in the seat beside Bon Clay. Paula set out a bowl that was shaped like a jack-o-lantern in front of Ms. Halloween, and she wasn't shy about helping herself to it.

"And I don't have any sparkling water." Paul said to Bon Clay.

"Don't have any?!" He asked. "Give me a break! That's what all the high class ballerinas drink!"

He then gave an obnoxious laugh as Paula walked away to get him some regular water.

"Oh, you're still here?" He asked his subordinates. "You guys can leave now."

"Right!" They said as they saluted Bon Clay.

"And don't forget to practice those new dance moves like we talked about." Bon Clay added.

"Right!" they said again.

They then danced away doing the same moves that Bon Clay had showed them earlier. Ms. Halloween shook her head then popped more candy into her mouth.

"Oh, how nice." Bon Clay said sarcastically. "The fatty and the old hag are here with us."

Ms. Halloween glanced back at Ms. Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 as the latter was giving the prior a back massage.

"Why don't you just such your fat mouth, you weirdo-ballet dancing-swan brain-freak of nature?!" Ms. Merry Christmas snapped.

"Well, nice to see you!" Bon Clay said sarcastically and in a sassy high pitched voice.

"You both should shut your mouths." Ms. Halloween grumbled.

She then put more candy into her mouth as Bon Clay started gossiping with Paula about Mr. 1 and his partner being deployed as well for this mission. Ms. Halloween didn't really care about Mr. 1 or his partner Ms. Doublefinger. She already knows their identities. One of them happens to be directly in front of her at the moment. The other should be making his way to here by now. As Ms. Halloween sat there, she knew the time was getting closer to when she'll be meeting Wren once more. When they cross paths once more it won't be as friends. Ms. Halloween frowned into the bowl of candy as she remembered first meeting Wren.

-FLASHBACK-

 _"Well, what do we have here?"_

 _Elspeth blinked looking up at the teenage girl who was looking down at her. The girl was very beautiful, and her red eye shined like a ruby. Her kind smile had Elspeth, who was tucked into an alleyway and filthy, feeling at ease._

 _"You have the eyes of someone who has known much pain." The teenager said. "Has no one ever shown you kindness, little one?"_

 _Elspeth just shook her head as she brought her knees closer to her chest as if for comfort. The teenage girl looked at her in sympathy as she knelt down in front of the girl._

 _"What's your name?" The teenage girl asked._

 _"…E…Elspeth." She said softly._

 _The teenage girl's smile widened partially, and Elspeth was shocked that such a beautiful smile was directed at her._

 _"What a lovely name." The girl said. "My name is Wren. It's nice to meet you, El-chan."_

 _Wren held out her hand to Elspeth, and after a moment of hesitation, Elspeth reached out to shake her hand. Wren's hand was smooth and soft…and warm, and it gave Elspeth a sense of comfort._

 _"I say it's time someone looks after you." Wren said. "So why don't you come with me? I promise that as long as you're with me that you will have a better life away from suffering like this…away from loneliness."_

 _Elspeth's eyes widened, and her hand subconscious gripped Wren's more tightly. As Elspeth looked at Wren's smiling face, it was like looking at an angel who has come to save her from this hell she's known all her life. Tears entered Elspeth's eyes as she nodded her head._

 _"Good." Wren said. "Welcome to the family, El-chan."_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Ms. Halloween glared down at the candy in front of her while knowing all those sweet words that Wren had said had just been lies. Ms. Halloween hadn't been a part of the family. If she had been, she wouldn't have been kept in the dark, and Wren wouldn't have left without her. Ms. Halloween had just been a pawn piece to Wren…a throw away. And Ms. Halloween was going to make sure Wren paid for using her like she had.

Ms. Halloween was brought out of her thoughts by the loud crashing noise as some of her and Bon Clay's subordinates had been thrown through the door and partially the wall. She was on her feet in an instant ready to fight along with all the others in the café. She narrowed her eyes when seeing that Mr. 1 was at the door, and he had been the one to throw her and Bon Clay's subordinates. As Bon Clay demanded to know what the four men were doing beaten up and back here on the ground, Ms. Halloween kept her eyes trained on Mr. 1 whose real name is Daz Bones a former bounty hunter.

"A believe the person you should be yelling at, Mr. 2, is him." Ms. Halloween said as she pointed to Mr. 1.

Bon Clay looked up at Mr. 1 will hatred burning in his eyes for what Mr. 1 had done to his subordinates.

"Oh, so these men are acquaintances of yours?" Mr. 1 asked. "You see, I found them acting suspicious out in the desert. Don't worry…I doubt they'll die."

Ms. Halloween narrowed her eyes while actually feeling a bit angry at Mr. 1 for hurting some of hers and Bon Clay's subordinates. Even if she has been just spying on Baroque Works, she has grown the tiniest bit attached to Bon Clay and the men that serve under them.

"You seem unnecessarily concerned about them." Mr. 1 said. "Fostering friendships will only make you weaker."

"Those men are mine! They don't belong to you!" Bon Clay snapped.

He then went to attack Mr. 1, and Ms. Halloween sighed as she shook her head.

"This is going to be a long night." She said as she cracked her knuckles.

* * *

Wren stood with the others as they looked around Yuba. Wren was glad to have finally gotten here, but it didn't seem as if they found an oasis. The entire town was dried up. Not that Wren was surprised since when she and the others first spotted Yuba about half a mile away it had been getting hit by a sand storm.

"It can't be." Vivi murmured dejectedly.

Wren supposed they would be finding no water here, so it was good they still had a bit left over thanks to Ace getting more supplies from Edo.

"This doesn't look good." Zoro said. "This place doesn't look much different than that Erumalu place from before."

And Wren would bet that Crocodile was to cause to this place drying up as well. He does control sand, and it seemed as if that sand storm from earlier was a tad unnatural. Wren wondered that if she had been closer if she would have felt the same presence she felt back in the former city of green.

"Mmm, water." Luffy whined.

"Vivi, I thought this city was supposed to be some sort of oasis." Sanji said.

He then noticed that something seemed to catch Wren's attention as her head jerked down and slightly to the left. He wondered what it was. She seemed to be debating something before she finally looked away from whatever caught her eye.

"It looks as if the oasis has disappeared." Vivi said. "It's been swallowed up by all the sand. How could this have happened?"

"Why not ask the elderly man digging a hole?" Wren asked.

Everyone looked at her in confusion, so she pointed down. Everyone followed her gaze seeing that there was indeed an old man digging a hole. Sanji blinked as he looked back to Wren wondering if it was that man who grabbed her attention earlier.

"I'm assuming that you're travelers." He said as he kept digging. "You must be exhausted from all the time spent in that heat. Sorry but this town is a bit dried up too, so it doesn't have much relief to offer."

He then finally looked back at the group of pirates, and Vivi tried to cover her face, so not to be recognized.

"But still, you are free to rest here for a while." He said. "We may not have much water, but there are plenty of inns here in the town. It's what we prided ourselves on after all."

"Thank-you." Vivi said. "But we came here because we thought the Rebel Army was in this town."

The man didn't seem to like the Rebel Army since he reacted violently when Vivi mentioned it. He started shouting and telling them to get lost as he threw whatever he could get his hands on at them. Wren calmly dodged anything coming her way as her companions panicked as they tried to avoid being hit. It took a few minutes, but the man finally calmed down enough to stop throwing things.

"If you're looking for those fools, look elsewhere." He said as he returned to digging. "They're no longer in this town."

As her friends started freaking out, Wren's visible eye widened a bit. No longer here? Is that what Ling meant when she wrote the Rebel Army was preparing to make their move? If so, Ling could have specified they moved from Yuba, and somewhere else to prepare for their next move! Wren had feeling that somewhere Ling was snickering. That woman always liked to make things a bit difficult for Wren even when the situation was dyer. This is why Wren couldn't stand marines. She couldn't trust them as far as she could throw them! Not that pirates are much better, but still. Wren then took a deep breath knowing that getting angry wouldn't help.

"I'm sure you noticed the town was just hit by a sandstorm." The elderly man said. "That one certainly wasn't the first. After three years of no rain, the land has become increasingly dry. Sandstorms became a regular occurrence here. Little by little the oasis that we knew swallowed up. Until the town became what you see now—a dying wasteland. When the flow of supplies to the town ended, the Rebel Army couldn't maintain their drawn out struggle, so they packed up. They moved on. The Rebel Base is now located in Katorea."

Wren frowned remembering that Katorea was back from where they had come since it had been a close neighboring town to Nanohana. They didn't have the time to make it all the way back there to the Rebel Army before Crocodile pulled something.

"Katorea?!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Uh, where's that?" Luffy asked. "Is Katorea close to here, Vivi?"

"It's near Nanohana back the way we came." Vivi explained.

Wren sighed since this complicated things, and this meant she would have to rid herself of plans A though J. All those moves she had carefully calculated were now useless, but she still had many more left to play. She was far from feeling beaten.

"Katorea that's where I got separated from Sanji and met Eyelash!" Chopper exclaimed.

Eyelash seemed to start talking, so Chopper turned to the camel to give him his full attention.

"That's right when you helped me get away." Chopper said as Eyelash kept talking. "Wait a second, Eyelash is saying he was carrying Rebel Army goods to Katorea."

This new piece of information led to Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji being violent towards Eyelash. Wren even felt the urge to smack the camel at least once. However, acting on violent impulses like that was not ladylike, so she would refrain from doing so. Eyelash then tried to brush off their anger, which only made them hit him more.

"Well, great coming all this way was just a waste of time." Zoro said.

Wren sensed the man approaching, so she turned to look at him. Her movement caused the others to look back at him.

"Vivi." He murmured, which had the group—minus Wren—stiffening. "Is your name really…?"

He trailed off looking completely shocked and unsure what to really say at the moment.

"Hold on, she's definitely not a princess!" Luffy exclaimed.

Zoro punched Luffy over the head a second later as Wren sweat-dropped at how horrible Luffy is at lying and under pressure of keeping a secret.

"Nice one, Luffy!" Zoro said sarcastically.

The man then completely climbed out of the hole while looking at Vivi as if he was looking at a ghost.

"Princess Vivi, is that really you?" He asked as he grasped her shoulders. "You're alive! I can't believe it. Thank-goodness. It's me, Vivi! Don't you recognize me?! I look different. I lost some weight I suppose."

Vivi gasped in shock seeming to finally realize just who this man was in front of her.

"Toto, is it really you?" Vivi asked.

The man nodded his head as large tears started to well up in his eyes at a fast pace.

"That's right." Toto said.

"It can't be." Vivi said.

She couldn't believe what the last few hard years has done to her dear friend Toto.

"Toto? That's this guy?" Luffy asked.

Despite not completely listening to Viv's story the other day, Luffy had heard bits and pieces like who Toto and Koza were.

"For whatever it's worth, Vivi dear, I have faith in you and the king." Toto said. "He's a good man. A true king who would never betray his country. I know it!"

Wren watched as Toto fell to his knees crying with an unreadable expression on her face. Vivi knelt down in front of the man as he continued to cry with his tears momentarily giving water to the dry sand that greedily soaked them up.

"This rebellion is ridiculous!" Toto said. "A bunch of faithless fools! True our country hasn't seen a drop of rain in three years, but I still put my trust in the kind as I've always have. Most of the country still has faith in him actually…So many times…I tried to stop them so many times, but they won't listen to anything I say. The rebellion isn't stopping. There's strength, supplies, and men have reached the limit, however. Their intention is to settle everything with their next attack. Their backs are against the wall—they're stuck in a corner. Prepared for death!"

Vivi stiffened when hearing this, but Wren wasn't all that surprised. They were all angry and wanted justice. Apparently enough to kill and to die for it. Crocodile planned this well. The kingdom would tear itself apart to nearly the point of no return, and then who shall appear to stop that from happening? Why Crocodile, of course, the gallant hero of Alabasta. And when he sits on the throne, he will find himself in a position of power…power that will grant him nearly anything and everything he'd ever want. He'd become almost untouchable …just like Doflamingo.

"Please, Vivi, you have to stop these fools from tearing our country apart!" Toto begged.

He then cried some more with most of the Straw Hats looking at the man in sympathy. Vivi silently pulled out a handkerchief from her cloak to hold out to Toto who looked up.

"Toto, old friend, please don't be worried." Vivi said.

"Vivi dear." Toto murmured.

"We'll succeed." Vivi said. "We're going to stop this."

As Toto bowed his head to thank Vivi, Wren looked down. It was obvious to her that Vivi was being naïve if she thought they'd stop everything before any damage would be done. There was just no way, and Wren knew doing things Vivi's way would end in disaster for not only their plan to take down Crocodile but the country in a whole.


	18. Blood Will Be Shed

Coco: Sorry for the typos. I just finished nine hours of work and have six other things to get published/posted tonight since I won't have much time tomorrow or Thursday before I have to clock in back on Friday. Sorry again. I'm just so tired.

* * *

Wren sat silently at the same desk in the room she had been placed in with her friends to rest. While she was tired, she couldn't sleep, and there was just so much planning to do. If they wanted to take care of things, the quickest way would to go straight to the source of the problem. Wren honestly had wanted to slow down the rebellion first and maybe take out most of Baroque Works before targeting Crocodile since it'd make things easier. Now that wasn't the case if they wanted to get things done, and save as many lives as possible though many would still be lost, there best bet was to take out the maestro of this entire coo first.

Wren looked down at the map in front of her while knowing that Crocodile was stationed in Rainbase, which was like his personal playground. It was much closer than Katorea, which meant much easier to get there. Then after taking down Crocodile, it'd be an easy shot to the capital where they could speak to the king and talk strategy to find the best solution on how to deal with the rebels. Bringing Crocodile's head along with them along with a few loose tongued Baroque Agents would help their chances as well.

"If we go against Crocodile, I would be the best choice to battle him." Wren said. "However, I know Luffy-sama wishes to "kick ass", so he might interfere."

And if he does, it's most likely he and the others could end up in a pickle. Wren then would have to be careful how she steps because Crocodile could use her new friends as hostages or as shields. That means she couldn't just straight out attack him. She'd have to try something else that would hopefully help her get close enough to Crocodile to finish him off in one quick strike.

"Besides, Crocodile there are the Baroque Agents that will try to protect their boss." Wren said.

Speaking of those agents, she was sure they were already put on the move. And she knew very well what Bon Clay and "Ms. Halloween's" mission was since Elspeth had already told Wren what her orders were before Wren left Doflamingo's crew. The way Crocodile is playing things out is almost too similar to what Doflamingo had done in Dressrosa eight years ago to be coincidence. It was almost like Doflamingo himself had told Crocodile the perfect way to take over a kingdom, or Wren was just being paranoid and Crocodile's mind was just nearly as twisted as Doflamingo's mind.

But how he came up with this plan wasn't any concern of hers. Her only goal was to take down Crocodile, and use whatever is left over of his that could help her. And make sure that Doflamingo doesn't get to scavenge from Crocodile's leftovers since she wanted to cut off any chances Doflamingo had of gaining more power than he already does. She knows she won't cut him off everywhere, but this was a big play that she couldn't afford to let him benefit from. Wren then stiffened when sensing someone coming up behind her. She knew it was a certain blonde cook before she turned her head to look at him.

"Sorry, Sanji-san, did I wake you?" She asked.

"No, my dear." Sanji said as he sat on the edge of the bed that Wren had claimed as her own earlier. "Can you not sleep, Wren-chan?"

"I don't have time to sleep." Wren said. "With all that's happened I need to rework a few things, and come up with the best way to reach our goal now that stopping the rebel army before they start war is no longer an option."

Sanji blinked as he looked at Wren closely. She seemed exhausted. When was the last time she had a full night's rest? Not only did that question enter his mind, but he wondered what was going through her head exactly.

"Do you think it's pointless to try to reach Katorea in time to stop the rebels?" Sanji asked curiously.

"Yes." Wren said with no hesitation. "There will be no completely stopping the battle to come in a day or so. People are going to get hurt and die either way, but there will be less of a body count if we don't waste our time trying to rush to stop an army we won't even reach in time."

She said this all bluntly with not even sounding worried about those who could die. She sounded more like she's talking simple facts and strategy.

"Vivi-san doesn't think that way." Sanji said.

"Because Vivi-san is a naïve child." Wren said with an almost harsh tone in her voice. "She thinks she can save every last person in her country as long as she only risks herself, and gives it all she has to take the path that has the least bloodshed. What is funny is that usually that path leads to the most bloodshed at the end."

Wren spoke so certainly it was as if she personally went through what Vivi has. Well, she did say her old crew took over a country in the Grand Line. So she has seen what Vivi is going through first hand in a way.

"Kind hearted people who try to save everyone always end up as the people who lose the most in this world." Wren said. "If you want to survive and keep what you hold dear close, you have to be prepared to sacrifice other things and watch people fall. You have to understand that people die no matter how much you struggle, and if you can't do that this world will swallow you whole into its dark abyss."

Sanji's eyes widened as he looked at Wren as she said those words with her shoulders shaking. Was she crying? He went to check on her, but Wren suddenly stilled her shoulders as she lifted her head.

"The sooner Vivi-san learns this the better the chance of this kingdom not ending up like Dressrosa." Wren said steadily. "However, if she doesn't learn this soon, she'll end up like me…and that isn't something I'd wish on anyone."

"Wren-chan, what do you mean?" Sanji asked. "Like you?"

Wren was silent for a moment as she stared down at the paper in front of her that had notes written on it. She then went back to writing on the paper.

"Nothing." Wren said. "Forget I said anything."

Sanji frowned feeling the urge to force Wren to keep talking since he wanted answers. However, he wasn't the type of man to force a woman into anything that would upset her.

"Wren-chan, is there anything I can do to help?" Sanji asked. "To make things easier for you."

"Thank-you for the offer, Sanji-san, but no." Wren said. "I just need to work a few things out."

She needed to work some kind of strategy that could help them out in the end. They couldn't lose this battle. If they did that one be one more Shichibukai with more power than they needed. And if Crocodile is somehow connected to Doflamingo then Crocodile taking over Alabasta really could benefit Doflamingo. Wren couldn't let that happen. She had to stop it even if she had to do things her way instead of following Vivi's naïve idea that things can be solved by going to Katorea.

"Well, if you're sure." Sanji said. "If you decide you need anything, please let me know."

"Yes, thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said. "You have been very kind to me. Kinder than I deserve."

She said this last part softly, so Sanji didn't hear the words leave her mouth. If he had, he probably would have said something about it. As she continued to work, Wren knew for certain that it was almost time she and Elspeth would cross paths once more.

* * *

"That meeting had been a bit intense." Ms. Halloween said to herself as she sat in a bar at Rainbase.

It was after the meeting with the mysterious Mr. Zero being revealed finally. However, Ms. Halloween has known his identity for a long time now, so she wasn't shocked like the others. She only pretended to be to keep her cover intact. The only thing that had been a bit of a surprise was the fact that Crocodile was not only trying to take over this country, but also find the legendary weapon Pluton, so to gain even more military power. And if he had too much power that could spell trouble for Doflamingo, which is something Ms. Halloween would have to stop.

 _"And do you believe he knows where it is?"_

Ms. Halloween looked down at the mini den-den mushi in front of her that had a wide grin of its face and appeared to be wearing sunglasses. Ms. Halloween picked it up to bring a bit closer, so not to be overheard. Besides, she didn't know when her partner would be back, so she had to speak in hushed tones to make sure he wouldn't overhear her if he happened to head back to her during her conversation with Doflamingo who she had called the second Bon Clay left the table they had been sharing.

"I believe he thinks he knows where to find it." Ms. Halloween confessed. "However, whether it's where he believes it is or not is still unknown. I should be able to find out during our final operation. After doing as ordered, it shouldn't be hard to slip away from my partner to tail Crocodile, Joker-sama."

She didn't want to use his real name since at any moment someone might try to nosily listen in, or a black den-den mushi could possibly pick up their conversation. So it was best to be careful with what kind of names they used while on an open line like this one. Besides, when dealing with business such as this, Doflamingo preferred to go by the alias Joker like how his card seated commanders had their own aliases. The den-den mushi chuckled as its grin grew, which showed that Doflamingo was pleased with this new development.

 _"Very good."_ He said. _"Now, we need to discuss the matter concerning Corazon."_

Ms. Halloween frowned at the mention of that name while already planning to punish Corazon as soon as possible. After what Corazon had done there was no way Ms. Halloween could even think of offering forgiveness.

"Don't worry, Joker-sama." Ms. Halloween said smoothly despite the anger burning up inside her like a raging fire. "I know exactly what to do with Corazon as soon as we cross paths here in Alabasta."

While Ms. Halloween couldn't kill Corazon since Doflamingo would be upset, she could still make sure to hurt the holder of the Heart Seat gravely.

 _"Good."_ Doflamingo replied. _"I don't want the same mistakes made like the first person I sent after Corazon."_

Ms. Halloween nodded her head while knowing she'd lose her head like the last guy if she were to fail Doflamingo in anyway. And she rather liked her head where it was, so she'd do whatever she had to to keep it attacked to her body.

"Yes, I understand." Ms. Halloween said. "Corazon won't be running free much longer. You can trust me, sir."

The den-den mushi's grin grew even more if possible as it gave another deep chuckle. The chuckle was dark with a hint of menace in it that would have most people quaking in fear. However, Ms. Halloween was used to it by now, but that didn't mean she held no fear whatsoever towards the owner of that chuckle.

 _"I am counting on you, Elspeth."_ Doflamingo said. _"Don't let me down."_

The den-den mushi then went "kacha!" before it fell into a slumber meaning the call was ended.

"Yes, I don't plan to." Ms. Halloween said as if the conversation was still going. "I'm not stupid enough to fail you, Donquixote Doflamingo."

Ms. Halloween then put it away into her hoodie pocket as Bon Clay returned from the "little ballerina's restroom" with a smile on his face. Ms. Halloween shook her head wondering why he was smiling like that since it wasn't like going to the bathroom was a magical thing.

"Are you read to go, Ms. Halloween?" Bon Clay asked as he spun around. "We must prepare for our part of the plan."

"I have been ready." Ms. Halloween said as she stood up. "You were the one taking too much time in the bathroom."

"Sweetheart, it takes time to look this good." Bon Clay said sassily.

Ms. Halloween rolled her eyes at his words as the two of them left the bar to meet up with their crew, which would help them pull off their part in this mission that Crocodile assigned all of them. As the two left, Ms. Halloween wondered if Wren was ready for this fight to come.

* * *

The next morning, Wren stood with the others as they prepared to leave for Katorea, which Wren still saw as a bad idea. Rattle would be the fastest way to get to Katorea, but Wren was leaving him here with Toto who had been unsure about taking care of an Emperor Rattling Cobra. She had told the snake to watch after the elderly man, and to help him if Toto needs it.

"I'm sorry I didn't have more to offer you, Princess Vivi." Toto said.

"No, please don't worry about it." Vivi said smiling. "Well, we should be off now, Toto."

She knew they had to get back across the desert to Katorea as soon as possible, so to stop the Rebel Army.

"Oh, Luffy, here." Toto said walking forward to give Luffy a very small barrel of water. "Take this with you."

Luffy became excited when seeing the barrel of water since he's been dying for some water. Wren told him to stay out of the water they had left this morning since they needed it for the journey back. She had said the same to Usopp who also was glad to see the small barrel of water.

"You found some then?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, it was last night a bit after you fell asleep after digging that huge hole of yours." Toto explained. "I finally reached a moist layer under the dry stuff. That water there is the moister I was able to extract from the damp sand."

"Whoa, that seems pretty complicated, but thank-you." Luffy said.

Wren knew it definitely hadn't been easy to extract the water from the sand, so Toto had to have had worked hard to get that much.

"That right there is genuine Yuba water." Toto said. "It's not much, but it was all I was able to get."

"Right and I'll drink it with care." Luffy said nodding.

The group then gave their final farewell, and Wren waved to Rattle who was literally crying due to her leaving. As they turned away from Yuba, Wren frowned knowing that heading back to Katorea was grave mistake.

After walking for about half an hour, Wren knew that they were actually at the perfect spot to start heading north since it'd be a straight shot to Rainbase from here. She was about to open her mouth to point this out, but she noticed that Luffy had stopped walking. She stopped before the others to look back at the young captain as he sat under a lone and wilting tree. Soon the others noticed the two had stopped, and looked back at them.

"Hey, Luffy, Wren, what are you doing over there?!" Usopp demanded as he pointed at the two of them.

Luffy didn't reply at first as he looked forward with a very serious expression on his face. Nami got down from Eyelash with Sanji's help as she looked at her crewmates.

"Luffy?" Nami asked. "Wren, do you know he's doing?"

Wren shook her head as she continued to look down at her young captain. Something had to be bothering him.

"Um, is everything alright?" Vivi asked.

She hoped he wasn't feeling faint or anything due to the hot desert sun beating down on them.

"I quit." Luffy said finally.

Wren tilted her head wondering what he meant by those words exactly. Honestly, she was a tad surprised since she didn't know Luffy knew those two words could go together.

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

"What's that mean?" Vivi asked. "Quit what, Luffy?"

"Oh, come on." Usopp said. "We don't have time to put up with every little weird mood you have right now, Luffy. Let's go."

"Yeah shouldn't we get going?" Chopper added.

He knew they didn't have much time to return to Katorea before the Rebel Army moved out.

"Yes, we should and fast." Sanji said. "If we don't get back to that Katorea place the way we came, and stop the rebellion that's about to happen, then a million Alabasta citizens are going to start fighting, and things will get real ugly, real quick! We're doing this for Vivi-san! So, let's go."

Sanji walked forward to grab Luffy by the front of his cloak, but he was stopped by Wren putting out her arm to stop Sanji.

"Did you not hear a word I said last night?" Wren asked Sanji. "Going to Katorea is the mistake, and would cost more lives than you all seem to think. Going there won't help us accomplish anything, and I believe Luffy-sama realizes that."

Everyone was silent as they looked towards Luffy as he raised his head to look at them all.

"Wren is right." Luffy said. "Besides, all I want to do is kick Crocodile's ass, understand?!"

Vivi flinched a bit when hearing his harsh tone and seeing the glare on his face.

"We're pirates." Luffy said. "Everyone knows it's better without any of us around."

"You gotta admit he's good at getting straight to the point when he wants to." Sanji said.

He then looked at Wren who had her gaze downcast with her bangs partially showing her face, so he couldn't see her expression.

"Well, yeah, but not often." Usopp said.

Most of the time Luffy was just an airhead, and seemed to think about everything in some weird way.

"No, that's not true." Vivi said.

"You want it to work out, so that nobody dies in this fight." Luffy said. "Isn't that right, Vivi? None of the citizens. None of us either. We're up against of the Shichibukai, and a million of your own people on top of that. And you still want everyone to end up all safe and sound. You'll never win that way."

It seemed as if Luffy really did think the same as Wren. He understood that Vivi's naivety to think she can beat this without blood being spilt was foolish. Wren then glanced at Vivi as the bluenette shook in anger.

"Come on, Luffy, can't you at least try to show Vivi a bit of sympathy?!" Nami demanded.

"She can't be coddled forever." Wren replied instead. "She needs to hear this."

Nami frowned as she looked at Wren's back, which was turned towards her, so she couldn't see the older woman's expression.

"And what's wrong with that, huh?!" Vivi demanded. "What's so wrong about not wanting to see people die or get hurt?!"

"Because people die that's why." Luffy said without hesitation.

Vivi went forward to hit Luffy, but froze when a blade was pressed threateningly against her neck. The others gasped when seeing Wren holding her sword to Vivi with clear warning in her visible red eye.

"I suggest you take a few steps back, Vivi-san." Wren said. "And listen carefully to what is being said to you."

Vivi felt fear run through her, so she stumbled back a few steps. Once she was a few steps away, Wren sheathed her sword.

"You should listen to Luffy-sama." Wren said. "What he says in the truth. People do die. That is a very simple fact of life. It doesn't matter if it's people you know, or people you've never even heard of…everyone dies eventually. And trying to protect every single person you can by trying to avoid the bloodshed is stupid."

"Are you saying I should let the rebellion start?!" Vivi demanded. "A lot of people will die that way!"

"More so will die if we waste our time trying to get across this desert quick enough to stop the rebel army." Wren retorted. "By the time we reach Katorea they will have already made their move, and then what would we do? Chase after them? And while we are doing that they'll be killing and fighting as they go, and the people fighting them will do the same, which will leave bodies littering the desert."

Vivi flinched when Wren said that, and Nami was about to tell Wren to stop it. However, Sanji put his arm out in front of her and shook his head. Nami frowned though remained silent.

"By the time we catch up hundreds of lives will be lost." Wren said. "And Crocodile will have gotten what he wanted because we were too busy chasing after an army that couldn't be stopped. Which means not only did people die, but your country would be in ruins with a man like Crocodile as its leader. However, if we go after Crocodile now, we could win this with only a handful of people dead, which is much better than half of the country's population, isn't it?"

"How can you weigh a handful of lives to hundreds?!" Vivi asked. "Every life is precious and should be protected!"

"Thoughts like that will be the reason you'll lose your entire country." Wren said coldly. "Just listen to me, and perhaps this country can be saved even if not everyone in it is not."

"Why should I listen to you?!" Vivi demanded. "You obviously don't know what you're doing since you lost your entire homeland!"

The group gasped when Vivi said that before things we silent. Vivi's eyes then widened as she realized what she had said. Vivi opened her mouth to apologize, but Wren spoke first.

"You're right I did." Wren said as she kept her head down. "I lost my kingdom, my people, and my family because I made the exact same decision you are now. I thought if I gave myself up…that if I only risked my own life that everyone would be safe and no one else would have to die. Looking back, I wish I had made another decision. However, I know better now. I know playing the martyr isn't what's best. Especially in these types of situations. It times like this, you have to use whatever you can to win even if that means using your friends and putting them at risk."

Vivi's eyes widened even more as Wren lifted her head with a haunted look in her eyes.

"That might seem cold to you, but sometimes you have to risk what is precious to you to win." Wren said. "Besides, I hear that true friends are always ready to fight for each other no matter what the risk. And I believe that we are all friends, right, Vivi-san?"

Vivi sat there in shock for a moment before she finally started crying. Wren just looked away from her not offering any comfort to her since Wren had none to give.

"Now you see." Luffy said. "Now you understand."

Luffy then adjusted his hat on his head as he moved to stand beside Wren. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and she dipped her head to him before moving away. Luffy then looked at Vivi as she continued to cry.

"Hey, you can cry." He said. "I know how much you hate this. You wanna get Crocodile to the most."

Nami moved forward to kneel beside Vivi to give the younger girl a young, which had Vivi leaning into her.

"So now tell me." Luffy said. "Where can I find Crocodile?!"


	19. A Lesson In Haki

Coco: Hey, everyone, been a little while hasn't it? Well, don't worry I have a chapter for you to enjoy. Oh, and sorry for the typos. I'm sure there are a lot. It's just I got a late start in editing this chapter along with the ones for my Fairy Tail story, and I've had little time lately to do much with how work is. Two of our cashiers lost loved ones, so they've been out for a few days, and that made it where me and another girl had to cover their shifts. I don't mind covering for them since I understand they are going through a rough time. However, then we just had one cashier quit. And guess who they asked to cover for her. If you guessed me then you'd be correct. I feel exhausted D': However, they let me go early today since they didn't want to pay me a bunch of overtime, and they're giving me tomorrow off. I was so happy when they told me I nearly cried...not really, but you get the idea XD Anyway, enough of my rambling, let's get this chapter started!

* * *

Wren walked through Rainbase with the others as she shed the hood of her cloak. After Vivi had stopped crying, it had been decided the plans would be changed. Everyone agreed to take the fight straight to Crocodile, and made the day's journey to Rainbase. Luffy and Usopp had already run off to go get water the second the city had come into sight. The others were just looking for a place to crash now to get some rest. They ten found a shady place to stay, and she sat down with the others. Chopper soon left them to go to the little boy's room where he could relieve himself.

"Once they get back, we should immediately head to Rain Dinners." Wren said. "We cannot put things off much longer."

The sooner they get all of this taken care of the sooner this headache could be over for Wren, and she can look through the spoils left behind by Crocodile.

"Yes, I understand." Vivi said. "Do you have a plan of attack for when we reach Crocodile?"

Vivi knew Wren was the strongest here, and she understood the Shichibukai better since she's had a few run-ins with him. Vivi would trust Wren's judgement with this.

"I suggest none of you engage Crocodile." Wren said honestly. "None of you would be able to land on a hit on him."

However, getting Luffy not to go after him would undoubtedly be difficult to do. Wren knew he had his mind set on kicking Crocodile's ass.

"He that strong?" Zoro asked. "Or do you think we're that weak?"

He did feel kind of insulted by what Wren said, and since Wren could sense that she chose her next words carefully.

"I am not saying you are weak." Wren said. "It is just Crocodile is a logia devil fruit user. He is like Captain Smoker of the marines, which you all have had a run in with, yes?"

When she saw the frowns on Sanji and Zoro's faces she knew that the answer was yes to her question.

"If you fought against him, you know you can't land a physical hit on him." Wren said.

Logia users were practically impossible to beat at their level. However, Wren knew Zoro, Sanji, and definitely Luffy had the potential to learn how to fight Logia users. The problem though is that they didn't have the time for Wren to help them train in haki before they face Crocodile. It takes years for one to develop haki then strengthen it to use perfectly in battle.

"And Crocodile is the same way?" Sanji asked.

Wren nodded her head as she crossed one leg over the other in a proper manner.

"Crocodile ate the Suna-Suna no Mi." Wren explained. "That makes him a sand man. In other words, he is made of sand like Captain Smoker is made of smoke."

Sanji frowned knowing he didn't land even one hit on Smoker, so he knew he'd unlikely be able to hit Crocodile. And he remembers that Luffy had been unsuccessful in landing a hit on Crocodile as well. This made things difficult for all of them.

"Then how can you land a hit on him?" Nami asked curiously.

"I've trained a long time to be able to fight against logia type devil fruit users, and so I could fight equally with Doflamingo." Wren said though she still had a while to go before she was close to that man's level. "I trained myself in a technique that allows me to physically harm logia types. It works against other devil fruit users as well, but it's most effective against logia types."

Zoro's brow quirked wondering what kind of technique that Wren was talking about.

"What's this technique called?" Vivi asked curiously.

"It is known as haki." Wren said. "But haki itself can be broken down into three parts."

She held up three fingers to give the others a visual aid if they needed one to look at.

"The first allows me to sense attacks and predict the moves of my opponents." Wren said. "I can even sense people and other living things around me in a certain radius around me by picking up in their spiritual presence so to speak. This technique is called Kenbunshoku Haki*."

Wren has trained in Kenbunshoku Haki a lot, so she could sense what was going on underneath Dressrosa when she needed to. Sometimes if she tried to sense too much at once it blurred in a manner of speaking. However, if she tried to pinpoint one thing, it wasn't as overwhelming.

"That's how you knew about the fatso and his pirates about to appear before they did." Sanji said.

"And the same thing with Dalton and his men." Zoro added.

"And there were a few other times you knew someone or something was around before the rest of us." Nami finished.

Wren nodded once more as the others now understood how Wren sensed all those things before they came into sight.

"I mastered this level of haki when I was fourteen." Wren said. "The second level had been a bit harder to achieve, but it allows me to physically harm devil fruit users that might be impervious to physical blows. It can also form an armor like substance around the user to lessen the damage of physical attacks. It is known as Busoshoku Haki*."

"So like if you punched Luffy, it'd actually hurt him?" Nami asked.

"If I was using Busoshoku haki then yes." Wren said. "And, no, I will not start hitting Luffy-sama for you when you become angry with him."

Nami looked to the side with a pout on her face since she was hoping Wren would hit Luffy around a bit.

"And you mastered this level as well?" Vivi asked.

"Yes." Wren said. "I spent so many years training to reach the level I am now."

"And what about the third level?" Sanji asked. "Did you master it as well? Or are you still working on it?"

"The third level isn't something that can be achieved through training alone." Wren said.

This had the others blinking in confusion. The third level couldn't be reached through training, but the first two can?

"The third level is something one only person out of 2 million have." Wren said. "It something you are either born with or are not. It is known as Haoshoku Haki*. It's a technique that people with strong wills can use to knock out people of weaker wills or make them kneel in submission so to speak."

The group's eyes widened not believing there was such a power out there yet people could apparently be born with it.

"Though those select few people still have to train to be able to use it at will and as much as they want." Wren added. "Raelin is still struggling to use it more than five times a day. However, it is proving a tad difficult for her."

"Raelin can use that scary power?!" Nami demanded.

Wren nodded her head as more shock came across the group's faces as Raelin's kind smiling face entered their minds.

"I didn't even think Raelin could be that strong." Zoro admitted.

He didn't mean to say she was weak. However, he didn't think Raelin would have a power like that. He hadn't thought she was stronger than Wren not even in a small way.

"Raelin is my right-hand for a reason after all." Wren said. "I put her gift to good use to not only make my enemies fall, but to strengthen my own will, so that no one with that power could make me kneel. I will knee to no one ever again."

"Are you saying that you had Raelin-san use that power of hers on you?" Vivi asked.

"Yes." Wren said. "I had her use it on me to test and strengthen my will, and so she could train in using it more. I trained until I become immune to her using it on me."

Wren refused to have anyone force her into submission again. She wouldn't even bow her head to anyone unless she was just dipping her head in a farewell gesture of some sort, or out of respect to someone who deserved it. Bowing to anyone whom you did not respect and because you were forced meant you were weak, and Wren refused to be weak. She train all those years to become strong. She remembers one training session in particular that she had with Diamante after they took over Dressrosa.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren huffed standing in front of Diamante on wobbly knees with cuts and bruises on her body. Said man stood in front of her with a large grin on his face as he held up his sword._

 _"You've improved." Diamante said as he picked at his nose. "It's quite surprising how much stronger you've gotten over the last few years."_

 _Yet she wasn't strong enough to land a single hit on him yet. She grit her teeth in frustration as her hands gripped the hilt of her sword tightly._

 _"However, you're still not ready to truly take the position Doffy-sama has given you." Diamante said then swung out his sword._

 _It moved in a waving manner like a flag as it headed right towards Wren. She blocked its movement while trying to stay her ground, but she was forced back a few steps. One attack hit her sword rather hard, which nearly sent her falling to her knees. However, she stabbed her sword into the ground while using it to force herself to stay on her feet even when her knees tried to buckle. Diamante's brow quirked as he looked into Wren's face as her eye burned with determination._

 _"If you had just fallen to your knees, this training session would be over." Diamante pointed out._

 _"I refuse to fall to my knees." Wren said. "I refuse to be forced to kneel in front of anyone because that is an act of submission and weakness! I am Saturn Wren. The blood of royalty flows through my veins, and that means I don't bow to anyone unless it is my wish to do so! And anyone who tries to force me into such a submissive state, will learn their place because I will show them no mercy!"_

 _It was silent for a moment as Diamante and Wren stared at each other for a long time. The man then laughed as he sheathed his sword, which had Wren frowning in confusion._

 _"Looks as if you might really be deserving of a seated position on the crew,_ _ **Corazon**_ _." Diamante said._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Wren frowned as the name "Corazon" repeated in her mind. She had been appointed as the new Corazon before the raid on Dressrosa. She had been confused as to why Doflamingo would give her that title since she had only been eleven, and still didn't know his true reasons to this day. Not to mention she had been a bit sick to take on Corazon's codename. She became known throughout the underworld as Corazon, but little did people know that she was actually the third owner of the title Corazon. However, she tries to keep it a secret that she is known as Corazon and that she even has a seated position. Though everyone in the government, navy, and Dressrosa know her title as Corazon. Suddenly Wren heard shouting, which brought her out of her thoughts. She blinked turning her head to see Usopp and Luffy running their way with marines behind them.

"Why am I not surprised they found trouble?" Wren asked as the others looked worried and/or annoyed with the situation.

"Because it's what this crew seems to be experts at." Sanji said then helped Wren up as a gentleman would. "We should get running."

Wren knew they should, but honestly she just wanted to wipe the marines then go about her business. However, if she did that then Ling would give her an earful.

"But Tony-kun hasn't made his way back here yet." Vivi pointed out.

"He'll be fine." Zoro said. "Chopper can manage on his own."

Wren was sure the little blue-nosed reindeer could find them by their scents, but she was still a tad worried for the little guy. Wren and the others started running with Wren keeping a hand on the hilt of her sword in case she needed to use it.

"Hey, guys, I think the marines are here!" Luffy shouted out to them when he spotted them running a bit ahead of him.

Wren shook her head at the obvious statement, but said nothing as she continued to run along with the rest of the crew.

"Oh, thank-you! We hadn't noticed that, Luffy!" Zoro said sarcastically.

The marines shouted to get them as Usopp let out a scream of fright while trying to run faster. Wren glanced back seeing that Smoker and Ling joined the chase, and were closing in. She frowned then looked left and then right to see two sides of the street were people had barrels piled up. It might not slow down Ling and Smoker, but it should slow down the small fries for a bit. Wren dropped back with Sanji's head jerking around in surprise to watch her. She even dropped back far enough to Luffy and Usopp.

"Run a bit faster." She said. "I have a plan to slow some of them down."

"Right!" They said nodding.

The two gave an extra burst of speed as Sanji continued to watch Wren while wondering what she had planned. She drew her sword as they were getting close to the barrels. Once she was passing them, she sliced once seemingly doing nothing. However, once she clicked her sword back into its sheath the strings holding the barrels together snapped as if cut before falling onto or into the marines' paths. Wren picked up her pace after that as she listened to the marines shout in surprise.

"Nice one, Wren!" Nami said smiling as Wren caught up.

"It won't keep them slowed down for long." Wren said. "And it hasn't hindered Smoker-san or Ling-san in the slightest."

Nami blinked before looking back to see Smoker used his devil fruit powers to clear the barrels while Ling used some impressive acrobatics to propel her onto the wall of the building to run across it for two seconds before jumping and spinning off to land on the ground. It didn't break the stride in her run at all.

"What the hell is that woman?!" Nami demanded.

Wren chuckled at her panicked question as she glanced back at Ling who seemed annoyed by this entire situation. She was probably annoyed Wren found herself in trouble, so now Ling had to deal with her and her friends.

"This is bad!" Usopp shouted. "Baroque Works will see us if we run through the street like this!"

"I believe it is all too late to worry about that." Wren said once she was back to keeping pace with Sanji and Zoro.

Usopp looked up at the red wine-colored hair woman as Zoro was glancing around to see men holding pictures of them while looking their way.

"She's right." Zoro said.

"Then it's decided!" Luffy said. "Let's go."

Vivi looked back at him in confusion while not entirely sure what he meant by that.

"To wherever Crocodile is!" Luffy specified. "How about it?! Ready?"

Vivi nodded before she pointed to the large pyramid like structure that was decorated by an alligator on top.

"Do you see that building up ahead with an alligator on top of it?" Vivi asked. "That's the casino Crocodile runs! It's called Rain Dinners."

"I see it." Luffy said. "So that's where Crocodile is."

Sanji glanced back at the marines who were back to chasing them. What Wren did didn't slow them down much at all.

"I think it would be better if we all split up now." Sanji said.

"Yeah, it's looking that way." Zoro agreed.

If the situation was any different, Wren would be sure to point out the two, who seemingly hate each other's guts, actually agreed on something. However, it wasn't the time, so she kept her comments to herself.

"Right." Luffy said nodding. "See ya later!"

The group then split into groups of three with Luffy heading up as Wren headed off with Usopp, Nami, and Sanji left. Then Zoro and Vivi went right.

"Don't die!" Luffy called out to his crew before they were out of earshot.

Wren didn't plan to leave this world just yet, so she was confident that she could follow her captain's orders. They didn't get far before the marines were practically on top of them with Ling leading the way. Wren sighed knowing that running wasn't going to keep working, so she came to a stop just at the same time Sanji did as if he had the same thought as her.

"Hey, Usopp, you look after Nami-chan and Wren-chan!" Sanji ordered.

"Why?" Usopp asked confused.

"Just do it." Sanji said as he turned to face the marines. "I'll take care of the marines."

"He means to say we will take care of the marines." Wren corrected as she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. "I will not run from small fries."

Sanji wanted to protest, but saw in Wren's eyes that she would not be going anywhere. He just sighed letting out a puff of smoke. However, he had a slight grin on his face.

"But, Sanji, Wren!" Nami tried to protest.

"Just go!" Sanji ordered.

Usopp hurried Nami along as she looked back at her two crewmates hoping they would be alright.

"Without that smoke freak around they should be easy to handle." Sanji said.

"I wouldn't say that." Wren said. "I have fought against Ling-san before, and she is a formidable opponent. However, I will fight her, so do not freight."

She knew Sanji wouldn't be able to fight against Ling anyway since she's a woman.

"Alright, but please be careful." Sanji said as he glanced down at Wren.

Wren just grinned with a bit of excitement shining in her red eye. She rushed forward drawing her sword as Ling rushed forward as well. Ling's butterfly swords slipped down into her hands from her sleeves, and she slashed forward with her swords clashing against Wren's blade.

"You just had to go and get noticed, didn't you?" Ling hissed, so not to be heard. "It's very sloppy of you."

Wren lightly smiled while ignoring Sanji's fight against Ling's subordinates. She knew he could handle himself, so she wasn't too worried.

"I wasn't the one to be noticed." Wren pointed out. "My captain and crewmate just had the misfortune of running into all of you."

Ling rolled her eyes before lashing out her foot, which had odd vibrations coming off it. Wren moved to block the kick with her foot covered in haki. The two forces clashing sent the two flying back from each other. Wren flipped in the air to land on her feet away from Ling. Ling landed in a crouch on top of a barrel with a frown on her face.

"The famous Hassoken*." Wren said. "The ability to reverse the impact of something else with the use of one's body, and create shock waves. Impressive. I see you have been training since we last fought."

Ling narrowed her eyes at Wren's tone since she sounded like an older sibling giving praise to the young for learning a new trick. It ticked Ling off. Especially since she used to get that tone all the time from her older brothers, and because she was older than Wren. Ling went to hit her again, but Wren easily dodged the attack. Wren then whirled around planting her foot in Ling's gut. It sent Ling flying towards a building's door, which crashed at impact meaning she sailed into the building. Wren then went after her as Sanji was finishing off some of those small fry marines outside. Wren stepped into the house as Ling was sitting up. Wren moved a chair in front of Ling to take a seat.

"Do not bother getting up." Wren said as she crossed one leg over the other. "We have much to discuss and little time."

Ling frowned wondering what Wren was talking about. Wren propped her elbow on the arm of the chair to rest her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Please, listen well." Wren said.

* * *

Sanji let out a breath as he finally finished off all the marines. He looked towards the house that Wren disappeared in after she went after Ling. He was about to go check on her since it's been quiet in there for a while. However, Wren then came out of the house while sheathing her sword.

"I apologize for taking so long." Wren said as she started walking past him. "Shall we continue on to Rain Dinners?"

"Uh, right." Sanji said nodding.

He followed after her while curiously glancing back at the house. Did she defeat that marine woman? He didn't hear any fighting after Wren stepped into the house. However, he had been a bit focused on his own fight, so it was possible that he just didn't notice their fighting. They walked down the back streets, so not to draw attention to themselves since they couldn't afford any more delays. Wren wished to get to Crocodile as soon as possible, so to end things.

They went passing an alleyway, and Wren paused when certain she saw a certain blue-nosed reindeer. She pulled Sanji to a stop then nodded towards Chopper, who was on the ground, as Tashigi was wondering if he was okay. Wren and Sanji exchanged a glance wondering if one of them should go over there. Wren knew she shouldn't since she was more recognizable, but they needed to get Chopper as soon as possible. Wren then saw a marine coming, so she grabbed Sanji quickly.

He gasped in shock when she pulled him so close that it would look as if they were kissing since Sanji's back was turned to the marine who glanced at them. Wren's face was bright red due to their positioning since it was so improper, but she didn't know what else to do to keep her face hidden from the marine who was telling Tashigi they needed to move. Sanji, who sensed Wren's discomfort, moved his hand to stroke her back in a comforting manner while grinning like a fool at being this close to a beautiful woman. However, he tried to reign himself in since he knew uncomfortable Wren was at the moment.

"I'll be right there." Tashigi told the marine who wanted her to hurry.

Chopper finally spoke up as he returned the glasses to Tashigi who apparently saw nothing odd about Chopper's appearance when she finally could see clearly with her glasses. She only thanked him before telling him goodbye. She finally left with her subordinate, which meant Wren and Sanji could move away from each other.

"Not the sharpest tool in the shed, is she?" Sanji asked as he stepped back.

Wren silently shook her head while ignoring the blush still on her cheeks. Sanji and Wren then looked towards Chopper who was smiling goofily as he did his little dance.

"Did you hear that?" Chopper asked. "She called me a kind person, but of course, I don't care what a moron like that thinks."

"Speaking of which." Sanji said sweat-dropping.

Wren then lightly cleared her throat as she finally calmed down with her skin back to its usual tone and not bright red.

"We still have much to do." Wren said. "I have a distinct feeling that our friends have already gotten into trouble, so we are going to have to be careful with our next few moves."

"What do you have in mind, Wren-chwan?" Sanji asked.

"You may not like what I have planned." Wren said.

Sanji frowned now feeling worried about what might be going on inside Wren's head at the moment. He just hoped she wouldn't be putting herself in danger with whatever she has planned.

* * *

Kenbunshoku-the first level of haki that allows a person to sense the life force of others.

Busoshoku-second level of haki that allows a person to cause harm to devil fruit users who might be immune to physical blows, and forms an armor like coating around the person to lessen physical blows done onto them.

Haoshoku-Also known as the Conqueror's Spirit or King's Spirit. It allows a person to subdue or completely knock out people or creatures of weaker will.

Hasshoken-the martial art used by the Chinjao Family. Also known as Eight-Impact Fist.


	20. The Name is Corazon

"You were right when you said I wouldn't like this plan, Wren-chan." Sanji said with a small frown on his face.

The three of them were currently standing amongst the fallen billions they had beat up outside the casino with Wren searching through their pockets for a baby den-den mushi. Chopper was helping her as Sanji was watching out for anymore flunkies.

"We have no time to think of another way, Sanji-san." Wren said. "Our friends have been captured, so we must get inside the casino. However, even after doing that we must get Crocodile out. To make sure he is distracted I shall be here waiting for him while you go in to retrieve the others. While we are doing our separate rolls, Chopper-chan will be finding us transportation away from here and to the capital."

Sanji still wasn't pleased because he didn't want Wren to be fight Crocodile on her own.

"And you remember the other part of the plan in case I cannot meet up with the rest of you?" Wren said. "Even if I do stop Crocodile, his plan has been set into motion, so there is more to do."

"Yes, I remember." Sanji said with a frown still on his face.

Wren nodded in return before finally finding what she had been looking for. She stood up with the baby den-den mushi resting in her palm.

"Good to hear." Wren said. "Now, Chopper-chan, please, go see if you can find a fast way out of this city. Sanji-san, you should get into position as well, and remember to take this."

She held out the detonator to him, and he took it through his hand lingered to cover hers.

"Please, be careful, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he stared into her visible eye.

"I will be fine." Wren said reassuringly. "Now go."

Sanji nodded before he and Chopper left Wren to do their own parts of the plan. Wren then let out a small sigh as she moved to sit down on a pile of unconscious flunkies. She crossed one leg over the other while holding her sword across her lap. She raised the baby den-den mushi towards her face while starting to place the call she needed to make. The snail went "kacha!", which meant someone picked up on the other line.

 _"Yes?"_ A feminine voice answered.

Wren smirked seeing that she at least had gotten someone to answer, and she had a pretty good idea as to who it was.

"Nico Robin, I presume?" Wren asked. "Or should I use your codename Ms. All-Sunday?"

It was silent for a moment on the other end as Wren waited for some kind of reply.

 _"Who is this?"_ Crocodile's voice came from the snail. _"Stay your business?"_

"Who am I?" Wren asked while letting out a chuckle. "I go by many names, but in the underworld I am known…as Corazon."

Silence followed again with the den-den mushi's face morphing to show Crocodile's shock.

"I can see you've heard of me." Wren said. "That's good. It means I don't need to explain who I work for, and I have a feeling that you might have a guess as to why I'm calling."

 _"Joker."_ Crocodile said with a growl in his voice.

Wren's smirk widened as she continued to play her little role. People might know that Saturn Wren left the Heart Pirates therefore Doflamingo who was also known as Joker. However, people who didn't know that Wren and Corazon were one in the same still thought Corazon was one of Joker's leading brokers in the underworld.

"You should have known that if you continued to play around in his backyard that he would send someone." Wren said. "Joker-sama is the king of the underworld, so he doesn't take kindly to someone stirring things up without his say so."

What Wren was saying had some truth to it. She's gone on plenty of missions for Doflamingo to deal with some newbie hotheads in the underworld market who thought they could mix things up without consequence.

"I already have made myself comfortable and met a few of your associates." Wren continued to speak. "They were kind enough to lend me one of their den-den mushi, so I could contact you. Speaking of associates, I hear you've recently met some of mine, and so kindly invited them into your casino."

 _"Corazon, hurry!"_ Usopp's voice broke into the conversation. _"If you don't hurry up, we're all gonna end up as gator bait! We're running out of time!"_

 _"Get the led out, Corazon!"_ Luffy added.

They kept yelling at her to hurry, and she chuckled since she just knew those rookies couldn't stay out of trouble.

"Yes, I knew they were there." Wren said. "I appreciate you being so generous to them, but I would like them back. If I must come retrieve them myself, so be it. However, wouldn't it be so much easier if you just came here to me, so we could discuss a few…business deals? I'm sure if you cooperate that we can leave things peacefully, and Joker-sama will be pleased. Doesn't that sound much better than I having to hunt you down?"

She spoke all this in a casual tone as if they were discussing the weather, but she knew her words were bothering Crocodile. She could tell by the glare on the snail's face that she had struck a nerve at how light she was making of him. As if he wasn't worth sounding worried about.

 _"It would be easier to talk face-to-face if I knew where you were."_ Crocodile spoke calmly.

"Well, I won't be hard to find." Wren said. "I shall meet you on the edge of Rainbase to the north. I would prefer not to be in the middle of town in case our negotiations go wrong. I'm sure you can understand. Don't keep me waiting."

Wren then hung up the baby den-den mushi to set down to the side. She got up from the bodies she had been sitting on before conjuring one of her wolf bats. She climbed onto its back before letting it quickly take her to the edge of Rainbase where she would speak to Crocodile. First a wardrobe change, so she looked more the part. She knew she would have a bit of time before he reached her. As soon as she thought that, the bridge blew, which had her grinning. Yes, he could use his devil fruit powers to get across with ease, but he'd be too angry at first to even think about that at first.

* * *

Wren waited at the edge of the town while in an old outfit that she hasn't worn since she left Doflamingo's crew. It was the outfit she wore when she was dealing with business as Corazon, and she wanted to keep her identity as Saturn Wren a secret. She had her hair up in a large top hat that was red with black ribbon around it that also had red hearts stitched into it. Her bangs, however, fell down to cover her black iris. Not that it mattered if the iris was covered or not since the hat she was wearing had a black veil that covered the top half of her face.

She then had on a black strapless dress that had a corset shaped top that was backless. At the end of the dress was red ruffles that stopped mid-thigh, which showed off her long legs that were in a pair of black tights. She had on unattached red sleeves that started at her shoulders before flowing down to her wrist. Finally on her feet were black Victorian styled boots that went up to her knees.

It might seem like much just for a show down, but she had to continue playing her role, so Crocodile didn't become suspicious. She had to keep his attention for as long as possible, so the others could get away. Wren didn't have to wait much longer since Crocodile soon appeared in a small vortex of sand. For a moment the two only stared at each other.

"So Joker has a problem with my plans, does he?" Crocodile asked.

"Well, of course." Wren said with a casual shrug. "He doesn't appreciate someone trying to run things in the underworld market since it is his personal playground. Joker-sama doesn't like to share what is currently holding his interest, so when you started to gain so many followers and started making deals without his permission, it…upset him."

Wren almost wanted to gag at how easy it was to fall into her old role, but she had to keep playing it. Until she finally made her move to end Crocodile.

"Upset him, huh?" Crocodile asked. "So he sends in you to deal with me? A Shichibukai?"

Wren almost wanted to laugh when he asked that. Did he honestly think his title of Shichibukai was supposed to scare her? Or that it made him invincible?

"Yes, he sent me." Wren said. "Though at first he wanted to learn more about you and your little operation, so I sent one of my own into your organization. She has given me a lot of information that quipped my interest and Joker-sama's interest. He's willing to let you continue your power play as long as he is benefited. So let us speak business instead of going at each other's throats. Does that sound like a plan? Or do you want to skip the business negotiations? I would actually prefer to do so."

Crocodile narrowed his eyes at Wren as her hand rested casually on the hilt of Banshī.

"You really intend to fight me?" Crocodile asked. "You won't even able to cut me with that blade. I am a man of sand after all."

Wren did let out a small chuckle leave her lips this time as her lips turned up into a smirk.

"You logia users are all the same." Wren said. "You act as if you're invincible because normal physical attacks cannot hurt you. However, you will learn that being made of sand will not save you from my attacks."

Before Crocodile could ask her what she meant, she appeared in front of him with her sword drawn. She slashed upwards, and Crocodile felt a sharp chill of warning hit him. He went to move backwards, but he hadn't been fast enough. His eyes widened when he felt a sharp pain in his chest as gash was made there by her blade.

"How?!" He demanded as he moved backwards to put distance between them. "You know haki?!"

"I am Corazon." Wren said. "The Holder of the Heart Seat. Do you really think I would have been given that title by Joker-sama if I couldn't handle a logia user?"

Crocodile growled while realizing he was actually in some danger if this woman could cut him. He might actually have to retreat from here. As if reading what he was thinking, Wren quickly struck again, but this time with her foot to his face. He grunted in pain as he felt the bone in his cheek break. He went rolling across the sand then had to turn into sand and disperse to dodge the next thrust of her sword. He reappeared behind her while bringing down his hook on her. She dodged to the side with ease since she had already sensed it coming. She whirled around to slash at his side, which she managed to give a deep cut. He stumbled backwards as he gritted his teeth together.

"How you became a Shichibukai is a mystery to me." Wren said honestly. "In my opinion you are the weakest one of them all. You don't know how to use haki. You rely too much on your devil fruit powers, and perhaps in this half of the Grand Line it's all you need. However, you are supposed to help the government against the Yonko, but with your power I do not see how that you could help at all."

Crocodile glared down at Wren while not appreciating that she was mocking him. Did she really think he was going to be beaten so easily? Did she really think she could beat him? He shot out his right hand to grab her, and she didn't hesitate to use her own to latch onto his to keep away from her throat, which was where he had been reaching. Crocodile smirked since he had a hold of her either way.

"You're finished now." Crocodile said. "I will suck the life right out of you, girl!"

He went to use her powers on her, but nothing changed, which had his eyes widening. Wren sighed as if in disappointment before she kicked his knee harshly to make him fall to the ground in a kneeling position. Wren looked down at him coldly even if he couldn't see her eyes.

"None of your powers can harm me if you most use physical contact because of my haki." Wren said as she released his hand. "If I can cut you using it, didn't you think I could use it to defend myself as well?"

She then placed her blade against his throat while ready to end this quickly while he was still shocked he could be overpowered. However, before she could cut him down, he dispersed into sand to flee, which had Wren becoming angry.

"Do not run from me, Crocodile!" Wren shouted. "You coward!"

* * *

Wren frowned as she walked to the outer edge Rainbase on the opposite side she had been on after going into the center of the town to search for Crocodile. She should have known he wouldn't be there. However, she had to try there first. Now she was certain that he headed towards the Capital, which means she needs to head there as well. Wren paused in walking when her haki alerted her of two presences near her, and one of the presence's "voice" was familiar to her.

"Luffy-sama?" She murmured.

He should have been out of here by now with the others. She walked over towards where she felt Luffy's presence. She came to a stop when spotting her captain laying on the ground bloody with a man knelt at his side.

"Luffy-sama!" Wren called out then rushed towards him.

The man whirled around when hearing her voice, and reached for his sword. However, his eyes widened when Wren paid him no mind as she passed him to drop to her knees beside Luffy.

"Luffy-sama, what happened?" Wren asked as she placed her hand on his chest. "Did Crocodile do this?"

Luffy just took in wheezing breaths, and Wren grit her teeth together while already knowing the answer.

"I'm sorry, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "This is all my fault. I didn't finish off Crocodile fast enough. He was right there…I almost had his head, but he ran before I could kill him. Now you are injured because of my mistake."

The man seemed shocked when Wren said that. She nearly killed Crocodile? How powerful was this woman? Luffy let out another breath before reaching up to grasp Wren's arm.

"I…I'll kick his ass." Luffy said. "I won't let…him get away with…what he's done. I…I…I just need meat!"

Wren's eyes widened once more as she looked down at Luffy. He…he wanted meat?

"But, Luffy-sama, you cannot beat Crocodile." Wren said. "Especially not in your condition."

"I will beat him." Luffy insisted. "Have faith in me, Wren!"

Wren gasped when those words left Luffy's mouth. Have…faith in him? Wren grew silent as she looked down at Luffy with an unreadable expression. She hasn't had real faith in others for a long time. There were certain things she trusted with her closest informants, and had faith in them to complete. But something important like this she always left to herself while only giving the smaller responsibilities to others. With something as big as this she always handled herself. She didn't expect others to handle them, or even think they could handle them most of the time.

But now Luffy wanted her to give him her faith that he would fix all of this? If anything else were to go wrong, this country could be left to ruins with Crocodile as its leader. Everything turning out alright depends on Crocodile being defeated or killed. There were other things that needed to be taken care of, but as long as Crocodile was still in play things wouldn't end. So he had to be defeated. It was such an important task, and Luffy wanted it left to him to do it.

Could she trust him to? It wasn't as if she succeeded her time around either. But she was still the only one who could hit Crocodile with physical blows unless Luffy thought of something else that could work. Could he do it? Could he beat Crocodile? It was silent a moment longer as Wren looked down into Luffy's eyes. She finally let out a sigh.

"Well, if you are going to defeat Crocodile, I suppose we should treat your wounds and make sure you have a full stomach, Captain." Wren said. "We must hurry or things could be over before we arrive."

Wren then looked towards the man who was with Luffy when she had arrived.

"You are the one known as Pell, isn't that right?" Wren asked.

The man did look like the man that Ms. Halloween told Wren about in one of her reports. Ms. Halloween had done research on Alabasta since she was working mostly in Alabasta for Crocodile. And she sent pictures and descriptions of some of the most important people of Alabasta. This man's picture was amongst them.

"Yes." Pell said. "Are you one of the people that helped return Princess Vivi to our country?"

"That is correct." Wren said as she went to gently move Luffy. "Now, Pell-san, I know we are strangers, but I believe if we help each other that we will be able to reach Alabarna in time to make a difference in the battle to come. Shall we work together?"

Pell was silent for a moment before he slowly nodded his head. If his princess trusted these people, he would as well.

"Good." Wren said. "Now please help me move my captain. After that I will see to his and your wounds as well. I am not a doctor, but I do have some medical experience. After your wounds are seen to, I must make sure my captain is fed. Once we take care of those things, we will head straight to Alabarna. The others…will be there waiting for us."

* * *

Wren looked down at Luffy from the side of the bed he was in as he was resting a bit longer. He needed the rest if he was going to come after Crocodile.

"Luffy-sama, I am going to go on ahead." She told his sleeping form. "Please, don't keep all of us waiting too long, alright?"

She then reached out to gently brush his hair back in a sisterly manner as she remained at his side a moment longer. She thought back to what he said when he told her to have faith in him. She will admit Luffy has surprised her from time-to-time since she joined them. However, she will admit she always relies on herself more, and doesn't have much faith in the others to help out much.

"I shall try to have more faith in you…and the crew." Wren said then smiled sadly. "It has been some time since I could put complete faith in anyone, so please be patient with me, Luffy-sama. But I hope you can prove to me that I can put my faith in others."

After saying that, she got up to her feet to head towards the door of the small hut they had took refuge in. She paused to look towards Pell.

"Please, bring him to the capital once he wakes." Wren said. "If he seems to be taking too long, wake him."

"Can he really help this country?" Pell asked before Wren could leave.

"I suppose we'll both find out once he and Crocodile cross once more." Wren replied before stepping out the door.

She conjured one of her wolf bats next before climbing onto its back after it laid down for her to do so.

"Hurry to Alabarna." Wren said to it. "We don't have time to waste."

The wolf bat huffed in reply before it soared up into the air to head towards Alabarna. As they headed in that direction, Wren hoped the others were alright.

* * *

Sanji sighed walking away from his fight with Mr. 2 while loosening his tie and unbuttoning a few of his top buttons.

"I think I cracked a few of my bones again." He said.

Well, at least the fight was over. Now he just had to return Usopp's goggles to him then they could meet up with the others.

"Well, well, it looks as if you rookies are pretty strong." A voice came from behind him.

Sanji stiffened before turning his head to see a young boy, who looked ready for Halloween, sitting on a barrel casually. He was glancing over at Mr. 2 with an indifferent look on his face as if he didn't care the man was injured.

"First you all defeated Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine. Secondly, you and your crewmates handle Mr. 3 and Ms. Golden Weekend while re-defeating the previously mentioned two all before arriving in Alabasta." The boy continued. "Then just moments ago the Long-nose and the pet reindeer defeat Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas. And now, Mr. 2 was defeated by you. Not to mention all the billions and millions you've all taken out since you got here. Saturn Wren really knows how to surround herself with a capable bunch of people."

Sanji's eyes widened when the boy said that. How did this kid know about Wren? No one from Baroque Works has met her. He then grit his teeth since Crocodile could have informed them all of Wren. After all, he had managed to get away from her…or perhaps she had been defeated. He's been worrying about that ever since Crocodile showed up, and Luffy decided to take him on before they all left Rain Base.

"Hey, Punk, how do you know Wren-chan?" Sanji demanded to know.

The "boy" looked towards Sanji with the indifferent expression never leaving his face.

"I am Campbell Elspeth." The "boy" said. "Fourth Officer of the Corazon Army which is headed by Corazon, or as you know her—Saturn Wren."

Sanji's eyes widened once more when he heard that. Back in Rainbase Wren said she would use the alias Corazon, but he had no idea that Corazon was actually her alias. He just thought she was going to use it because of the Corazon in her past. And this "boy" was that informant slipped in amongst the ranks of Crocodile's organization. Sanji then realized a few things…Wren said the informant was the _female_ partner of Mr. 2, and that this "boy" gave him a female's name.

"Wait, you're a young lady?!" Sanji asked in shock.

"Yes, I am." Elspeth said in return. "Though I see myself more as a boy than a girl. But what I see myself isn't what's important. I just want you to tell me where she is. I have no interest in the rest of you rookies. I just want her."

Sanji overcame his shock while frowning. He couldn't fight a young lady since it was against his code of honor. However, he couldn't just let her to get Wren either.

"Honestly, I would love to kill her for her betrayal, but Doflamingo-sama ordered that she be brought in alive." Elspeth said looking unpleased. "I think he's being too soft on her. He's even calling her betrayal just a tantrum."

"Tantrum?" Sanji asked.

"Yes, that's what he's calling her actions." Elspeth replied. "Doflamingo-sama has zero tolerance for betrayal. He did kill his own brother after all. However, when asked why he didn't kill Wren, he said, "Wouldn't you throw a bit of a tantrum if you learned I killed all your loved ones?" And he left it at that."

Sanji shook in anger not believing what he was hearing. Doflamingo thought Wren was just throwing tantrum? She was deeply in pain and suffering from learning her loved ones were dead, and Doflamingo chalks it up to a tantrum. It was like he was completely brushing off her true feelings.

"He believes that she'll come home on her own eventually, but he's humoring her by playing her game." Elspeth replied. "He says it's the least he can do to make her feel better."

Sanji was becoming angrier by the second as he listened to Elspeth. He wanted to hunt down Doflamingo and beat this guy to a pulp. No, he wanted to beat him within an inch of his life for all he's done to Wren.

"Of course, once she returns there will be slight punishment." Elspeth continued while giving a slight smirk. "It will be the only enjoyment I get out of this entire ordeal."

"Punishment?" Sanji asked as his brow twitched in anger.

"Yes, she'll be locked away in that room of blackness that she fears so much." Elspeth said. "It's a tiny, cold room in which no light can pierce inside. It is total darkness, and it is the thing that she fears most in the world because in the total darkness every horror she's ever seen comes to the surface to haunt her. That will be her punishment, and I know Doflamingo-sama will at least place her inside that room for a week. Maybe to the point of near starvation because she isn't allowed meals while within the room…just enough water to keep her alive."

Sanji was completely shaking by now due to his anger. He couldn't believe there was a man out there who would do such a thing to woman.

"That is the fate that awaits her once she is returned to Dressrosa and Doflamingo-sama." Elspeth said. "At least that's what will await as long as she doesn't completely piss of Doflamingo. It would actually be better if she were to return now before he loses his patience. So why not tell me where she is, so that I may take her in?"

"No." Sanji said as he glared. "There's no way in hell I'd let that bastard anywhere near her! I won't let him lay so much as a finger on her. Wren is never going back to that crew of yours because she is a part of our crew, and we will protect her."

Elspeth narrowed her eyes at Sanji when seeing he wasn't budging. Elspeth shook her head.

"You know, I used to be just like you, Blondie." Elspeth said. "Utterly devoted to her, but I woke up. You need to as well before she tosses you to the side once you're no longer of use to her. Because that is what she will do. She only cares and takes care of those around her if they are of use to her. Once they aren't, she'll toss them to the side or sacrifices them to get what she wants."

Sanji shook his head not believing it. He knows Wren has had to do a lot of things he probably would never even think of, but she did it to survive. She didn't have to worry about that now because he and the others could keep her safe. He would help her…he would protect her.

"My, my, you speak so poorly of your former commander." A new voice cut in.

Sanji and Elspeth quickly jerked their heads up to see Wren sitting on top of one of the buildings.

"Hello, El-chan, it has been a while, hasn't it?" Wren asked.


	21. It's Time For Cutting Ties

Coco, Hey, readers, sorry for taking so long in updating. I'll try to have this arc wrapped up in the next chapter or the next, so two more chapters max, and at the end of this arc will be the SBS, so if you have questions please, send them in! :D And after this arc will be a non-canon arc of my own creation, which I hope you'll enjoy :D

* * *

It was tensely silent as Elspeth stared up at Wren, who was still in her Corazon attire, with the shock in her face turning to one of pure unquestioned hatred. Wren looked into Elspeth's hate filled eyes with an indifferent look on her face that Sanji couldn't quite decipher. Wren finally turned her eyes onto Sanji.

"I see my plan didn't seem to work." Wren said.

"No, Wren-chan, everything went off without a hitch, but then Usopp and that dumb camel lost too quickly, which meant Mr. 2 could go searching for Vivi before she even got the chance to reach the city." Sanji explained. "Those two idiots made things a lot harder."

Wren nodded her head while guessing she should have expected as much. It was a good thing she had other moves lined up for this fight. She refused to be beaten of Crocodile of all people. Because if she lost this small game of chess to him that would mean she wasn't ready to take on Doflamingo, which would mean she would have to push back her plans to gain more experience. She really didn't have the time for that, so she refused to be beaten by Crocodile here.

"I see, but I am sure they gave it their all." Wren said. "Mr. 2 is a formidable opponent."

Sanji frowned guessing he could admit to that since Bon Clay did leave him in this state.

"But there's no cause for worry." Wren said. "I have more tricks under my sleeve."

Elspeth narrowed her eyes wondering who Wren had scurrying around here to set up "traps" so to speak to foil Crocodile's plans. Were the other officers still loyal to Wren? Was Elspeth betrayed by Raelin, Lily, and Monet as well? What about the sub officers like Rosalya, Theodosia, Valentine, and even Pavel who is her own partner? How many of those that she called family as betrayed her? Her hands clenched into fists while planning to bring them all down if that was the case. She would have all their heads for their betrayal. Oh, how she hated them all. As she stewed in her hatred, Wren jumped down from the building to land between Sanji and Elspeth.

"Sanji-san, you should go on." Wren said. "This is one reunion you do not want to witness."

Sanji frowned slightly as he watched Wren place her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Do you really plan to fight her?" Sanji asked. "Wasn't she one of your subordinates?"

"Yes, she was." Wren said. "However, I am no longer Corazon of the Corazon Army, so she isn't my comrade any longer. Now she is an enemy. She is one of Doflamingo's pawns, and I'll cut down all his pawns if I must to reach my goal."

She sounded rather cold as she was saying this, and Sanji looked at her in concern. This couldn't be as easy as she's making it out to be. No young woman could just completely lock away their heart and their feelings like Wren has seemed to be able to. No, it had it take years of practice to give her this false sense of emotionless.

"Don't try to find an explanation for her coldness, Rookie." Elspeth spoke up. "Saturn Wren only cares about herself and reaching her own goals. She can rid herself of former comrades without blinking if she thinks they are of no use to her, or have become her enemies. She could wipe out entire cities or let cities fall if it benefits her in the end. All she cares is about winning the next chess game, and you are just a pawn on the board just as expendable as I've become to her."

Wren let Elspeth run her mouth while not even trying to defend herself against Elspeth's words. Though after Elspeth was done ranting, Wren chuckled with her lips turning up into a smirk.

"You're never this talkative, El-chan." Wren said. "Tell me, are you trying to draw out our reunion? Did you miss your old commander that much?"

Elspeth glared at Wren for her taunting words before giving a shout of anger as she attacked. Elspeth disappeared in flash only to reappear in front of Wren at a blinding speed that had Sanji jerking backwards in surprise since he hadn't seen her move.

"Wren-chan!" Sanji called out in worry.

Wren didn't seem worried as Elspeth lashed out a foot at her head. In fact, Wren just dodged out of the way with ease before lashing out her own foot to hit Elspeth in the side. It sent the younger girl slamming into the building next to them. She then fell to the ground with her imprint being left into the wall Wren had planted her in.

"That attack was obvious." Wren said. "How disappointing. You were taught better than this, El-chan."

Elspeth glared up at Wren as the older woman looked at Elspeth with a look of disappointment.

"Don't look at me like that." Elspeth growled. "As if you're above me! As if you have the right! You lost that right the second you left the crew!"

Elspeth lashed out a punch next to catch Wren in the face, but Wren caught Elspeth's fist in her hand.

"You are letting your anger get the best of you." Wren said. "Usually I only have to warn Pavel and Rosa not to do that. It seems as if you have let your hatred get the better of you."

Wren then had to dodge Elspeth's punch, but it took little effort to do so. Wren shook her head before throwing Elspeth away to put some distance between them. Wren glanced back at Sanji.

"Please, leave." Wren said. "What is about to happen is something that needs to be kept within the _Family_."

Sanji frowned wondering what Wren meant by that last part. Was she referring to the "Doflamingo Family" that made up the top officers of the Doflamingo Crew? Did she still consider herself a part of that bastard's family?

"But, Wren-chan, it could be dangerous for you to be alone." Sanji insisted. "I should stay with you."

"No offense, Sanji-san, but you are useless when fighting against those of the female gender." Wren said. "Besides, as I said before, you won't want to witness this reunion."

Sanji still looked concerned, but he did slowly nod his head in understanding as he took a step back.

"I have to go check on Usopp and Chopper." Sanji said. "We'll come back through this part of the city."

"I'll be finished once you reach here." Wren said as she started walking towards Elspeth who was picking herself up off the ground. "Now go."

Sanji remained in place a second longer before turning around to run back towards where he had left Chopper and had told Usopp to go. Sanji hoped the two of them weren't dead. He'd never hear the end of it from Luffy if something happened to members of the crew. He did glance back over his shoulder as he watched Elspeth finally get to her feet.

"Please, be okay, Wren-chan." Sanji said.

He turned back around to keep himself running as Wren and Elspeth faced each other.

"Now that we no longer have an audience, I suppose it's time to get serious." Wren said.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the scenery around her changed into that of a marshland. She seemed to be standing on a small bank with soggy ground and pools of water around her. It looked almost too dangerous to step anywhere. Wren then noticed a small bobbing light to her right, so she turned her head to see a small specter like creature that was made of white light and flickered like a small flame.

"You want to lead me that way do you?" Wren hummed. "Have you forgotten I know exactly how your power works? I know better than to head in that direction. You'll have to try harder if you wish to beat me."

"I know that." Elspeth's voice came from the thick fog that was surrounding the area. "But there is more to my power than just leading others to danger. You know this as well."

Wren did know that. However, she still wasn't worried. Wren knew exactly what she must do to get through Elspeth's powers to defeat the younger girl.

"Then you did this to stall me?" Wren asked. "Is it because you have things you want to know?"

It was silent for a long moment, and while it might concern some, it didn't Wren because she could sense were Elspeth was the entire time. And the young girl wasn't moving an inch.

"I want to know why you betrayed Doflamingo-sama. I want to know if the others were in on it all…and I want to know why I was left behind." Elspeth finally spoke.

Wren wasn't surprised that those were the questions that Elspeth wanted answered.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you since what I tell you won't ever reach Doflamingo." Wren said finally. "Have you ever wondered why I am sometimes referred to as Corazon the Third or just Third by some of the older officers and by my fellow commanders?"

Elspeth frowned because there were times where Diamante or Trebol would call Wren that. Elspeth remembers walking with Wren once when they came across Diamante who called her that.

-FLASHBACK-

 _"Oi, Corazon." Diamante called out to Wren as they were passing in the hallway._

 _Elspeth was walking behind Wren with her hands stuffed inside her pockets while looking bored as ever. However, she remembered her manners and bowed her head to Diamante._

 _"Diamante-san, are you heading to the Colosseum?" Wren asked._

 _"Actually, I need you to supervise the gladiator battles in the colosseum today." Diamante said. "Doffy-sama needs something of me."_

 _Elspeth tried to hold back a frown at the mention of those battles. If Wren had to watch the battles then that meant the officers below Wren had to watch them as well._

 _"I suppose so." Wren said. "I have nothing of importance today. I will head there immediately. Elspeth, please have Lily, Monet, and Raelin join us."_

 _"Yes, Corazon-sama." Elspeth said._

 _Elspeth and the others weren't permitted to call her Wren when in front of the other commanders and officers. They could only refer to her by her title of Corazon._

 _"Thank-you." Diamante said as he grinned. "I know I can always rely on you, Third."_

 _Elspeth blinked in confusion at the title before glancing at Wren who merely blinked. However, if Elspeth looked closer she would have noticed how Wren's jaw slightly tensed when Diamante called her that._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

"It's because I am the third person to hold that title." Wren said. "There were two other Corazon's before me. And the Corazon who I succeeded was someone who had been very dear to me. He was like a father figure or older brother to me. He loved me and showed me kindness, and tried to save me from the very darkness that Doflamingo wanted to consume me."

Wren's hand clenched tightly around her sword as she thought about Corazon.

"But Doflamingo killed him…took his life right in front of me." Wren said. "And that wasn't even he beginning. I never told you how I ended up a part of Doflamingo's crew in the first place either. I was forced into becoming a member when Doflamingo threatened to kill everyone I held dear and destroy my homeland while he was at it. So I agreed to his terms. I was a faithful servant...I had would minor slip up, but even after that I returned to him. I did as he ordered. I destroyed cities, I destroyed people's lives….I took people's lives for him just to keep those I love dear."

Wren then paused with Elspeth waiting to hear the rest. She needed to hear the rest.

"But recently I learned that Doflamingo killed my family and destroyed Era." Wren said. "The annihilation of the island had to happen nearly a complete decade ago. Which is around the time he killed my predecessor. I won't allow him to continue how he is. I will bring him down, but make him watch his entire empire crumble before I finally take his life. I'll make him watch as he loses everything before I even think about finally killing him off. That is my goal, which means I need the most capable people at my side to help me reach it."

Elspeth almost shuddered when hearing Wren speak so coldly and murderously. Elspeth has never heard such a dark tone being used by Wren before, and it honestly scared her.

"And to answer your next question," Wren continued with her voice looking some of its malice. "Most of the other officers of the Corazon Army are in on it all. You and Monet were the only ones left out of it. And of course, the hundreds of foot soldiers were as well because they are useless to me. As I said I needed the best to help me reach my goal. Not to mention the ones most loyal to me. Monet was too loyal to Doflamingo, and you…."

Wren trailed off as Elspeth heart stopped for a moment in her chest. What was Wren going to say? Was she going to say Elspeth was too weak to help her? That she was just trash like Elspeth has been thinking all along?

"You were too devoted to me to be a part of this." Wren said. "I don't need pawns who will throw themselves on the sword for me if things start to look rocky. The moment it looked as if I was in danger, you would come running, which mean leaving your post, which completely ruin everything. The others trust I can handle myself even if things look rather bleak. They even have instructions to follow if I were to die, and I know they'd do as I ordered and not abandoned my orders to save me when I might not even need it. However, you on the other hand wouldn't do that. You would immediately rush to my side even if it meant ruining years' worth of planning."

Elspeth was shaking by now, but it wasn't in the anger she felt earlier. No, she was shaking while trying to hold back tears. So she had been useless. Wren…Wren didn't need her.

"What's wrong with wanting to protect you?!" Elspeth demanded. "What's wrong with wanting you to live?"

"….I don't want to live…that's the problem." Wren said.

Her words were soft, but they cut deep as Elspeth's eyes widened greatly. Did she hear Wren right?

"After everything that has happened, I am tired." Wren said. "The only keeping me living are my goals to kill Doflamingo. After that…I have no reason to live any longer. There's no guarantee I would be alive anyway after everything is taken care of. I might not even see the very end of it all, but as long as I can protect the King, I can die without too many regrets because I know the King will end everything even if I—the Queen—is to fall."

It was silent for a long moment as Elspeth tried to take in everything she heard. Her anger was all gone, and all that was left was a feeling of worthlessness and sadness. Elspeth really was devoted to Wren. She looked to Wren as if the older woman was a goddess. Elspeth had practically worshipped Wren, and it was that devotion that made her worthless to Wren?

"I appreciate everything you have done until now." Wren said. "You've made me proud, El-chan, and you have become quite a capable young woman. I'm sure you'll be fine on your own from now on, which is why I am cutting all our ties right now."

Before Elspeth could ask Wren what she meant, Wren suddenly appeared in front of Elspeth while cutting through the illusion caused by Elspeth's devil fruit power. Elspeth gasped as Wren was bringing her sword down on Elspeth who didn't have time to move. However, Wren stopped her blade an inch from Elspeth's right eye. For a moment Wren and Elspeth just stared at each other. Wren then gave a soft smile that had Elspeth completely shocked.

"Break your ties to Doflamingo, and go live a life of happiness for the both of us." Wren said. "That is what I wish for you…which is the main reason why you were kept in the dark, El-chan. And I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you."

Then in a flash Wren whirled around while using the back of her sword to hit Elspeth in the back of the neck. Elspeth fell unconscious while slumping onto the ground right beside the fallen Bon Clay. Wren stared down at Elspeth's unconscious form for a moment before Wren sheathed her sword. Wren then turned away to start walking away. As she was walking away, Bon Clay, who had been conscious the entire time, cried while looking at his partner who had tears staining her face as well. She's been through so much. No wonder she always looked so sad and stayed mostly to herself. He reached out to take her hand.

"Don't worry." He said through his crying. "We'll remain friends, so you won't be alone. Friendship is a beautiful thing that is everlasting."

Wren, who heard him, smiled while certain Elspeth would be okay as long as she had one friend at her side.

* * *

"Wren-chan! Hey, Wren-chan!"

Wren paused in heading towards the castle where she was certain Crocodile was to look behind her to see Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and Eyelash heading her way.

"Wren, you're not hurt, are you?" Chopper asked in concern.

"I am fine." Wren said as the boys came to a halt beside her. "I have no wounds on me."

Chopper let out a sigh of relief since he had been worried Wren might have been hurt earlier during her fight with Crocodile since she hadn't met up with others earlier as planned.

"And what about Luffy?" Usopp asked looking concerned. "We…we heard he…died!"

Usopp let out a sob already thinking the worst before Wren could even reply to his question.

"Luffy-sama is alive and well." Wren said. "He is just going to be arriving a bit later to take on Crocodile."

"Take on Crocodile?!" Chopper asked. "But I thought you said we shouldn't try to face him!"

Wren just looked up to the sky with an expression that was slightly hard to read.

"Luffy-sama…asked me to have faith that he could defeat Crocodile on his own." Wren said. "I haven't put my faith in anyone for a long time….but perhaps Luffy-sama will surprise me."

Sanji looked at Wren closely to see she indeed had no physical wounds on her, which meant he could relax a bit. However, he was worried about what happened while he was away. Did Wren have to do something that would leave another wound to her heart?

"And I wish to see him win, so I want to go to the palace where I know Crocodile is." Wren said. "But I have a feeling that I won't be able to see much of the action…since there is a battle to bring to a stop. Defeated Crocodile will surely make things easier, but there is still much to do before it all ends."

And she knew quite a few ways on how to end a battle. She is very familiar with them after all. She has stopped war, and helped it grow many a times in her short life, so she is sort of an expert on it. She started moving again with the boys exchanging a look before following after her.

"How are you going to do that, Wren?" Chopper asked as he continued to ride on Eyelash's head.

"You should not worry about the details." Wren said. "I can do this all on my own. It is a simpler thing to do than some might think. I just need to deal with a few insects that are egging on this battle."

Chopper and Usopp were confused since they didn't understand what Wren meant by that. However, Sanji's eyes widened while having a good guess at what she was hinting at.

"Are you saying Crocodile has people on both sides of this conflict that are keeping the battle going?" Sanji asked.

"Yes." Wren said making Chopper and Usopp gasp. "Crocodile probably posted members of Baroque Works in the Rebel Army and the Royal Army months maybe even a year before this battle. Most likely as a way to insure that the battle would go on. Say someone tries to raise the white flag, someone from the opposing side just has to attack that person holding the flag to ignite the anger once more, which will have the battle continue. Not only that, but it'd be easier to monitor the two sides if he had his own people among them."

Sanji thought that all made sense, and couldn't believe that none of them thought of that before. How long as Wren thought about this? Did she have a feeling all along that it was a possibility for Crocodile's men to have infiltrated both sides? And if so, why not say something either? Perhaps she didn't think them knowing would change much.

"You all just go to the castle." Wren said. "I will stop in the square to start my attack. I do not want the rest of the crew mixed in with this business because it will appear to anyone who notices me that I will be attacking those on both sides. This might make me a target. We don't need the rest of the crew targeted because I'll need you all able to move more freely in this battle in case Crocodile has something else up his sleeve that I won't be able to see to myself. I will leave it to you, and trust you can handle it."

"Right!" Usopp and Chopper said nodding.

Well, Chopper nodded while Usopp gave a weak thumbs-up. Wren had to admit…he looked rather pathetic right now. She even felt a bit sorry for him, but there was no time for that. She then glanced at Sanji seeing that he didn't seem too pleased.

"Wren-chan, putting that kind of attention on you could put you in grave danger." Sanji said. "At least let me assist you in doing this, my dear."

"No." Wren said. "I need you helping the others, Sanji-san, in case Crocodile really does have something nasty planned. Knowing him, he must have something else planned. He might not be as strong as the other Shichibukai in my opinion, but he is very clever. However, the second I decided to step into this game of his, he lost. We just have to finish it, which means I need to trust that all of you can do as I have planned. It is the only way to victory. Please, understand this, Sanji-san."

Sanji frowned because he didn't want Wren in anymore positions that could lead to her getting hurt. However, he did understand this is a battle where anyone could become hurt. But that didn't make him worry less. Especially since Wren insisted on doing so many things on her own. She could seriously get hurt taking on so many on her own. He blinked when Wren let out a light chuckle. He looked at her directly, and she lifted her head to smile at him.

"It's sweet that you worry, but I am very capable of taking care of myself." Wren assured him. "I am much stronger than my appearance may suggest. Besides, I have to say my ability to rid myself of the enemy is better than my brokering and strategizing skills."

Wren would have no problem in killing the members of Baroque Works on her own. Once they were out of the way, she could move onto the second phase on ending the war.


	22. And the Rain Fell Once More

Coco: Hey, guys, happy Thanksgiving! Well, what's left of it anyway. It's like 11:43pm here, so not much longer until it's over XD But still. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter that I whipped up during my free time. And I have like three days off this upcoming work week, so I'm going to have more time to write and post :D Hope to update all my stories at least once this week :D

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Wren looked around the battlefield while drawing her blade out of another Baroque Works billion who was posing as a rebel soldier. After making sure that Sanji and the other boys made it to the castle, Wren at least stayed long enough to wait for the others to arrive, and to see Luffy had arrived as well. Luffy was now engaging Crocodile in battle, so Wren knew she had to get to her own part in this battle as well. She's killed over a dozen Baroque Workers already, and it was actually thanks to Crocodile that no one noticed her killing people on "both sides" since Crocodile had a bunch of sad collected down below.

She had also wanted to help the others by searching for the bomb Vivi told her about by using her haki. However, Sanji had told her not to even worry about the bomb since he didn't want her unfocused from the battle. She knew he didn't want her distracted and getting hurt. In fact, he had shot her words back at her before she parted ways with the others earlier.

-FLASHBACK-

 _"This new development is serious." Wren said as she stood with the others. "I still have to take care of the billons, but I shall try use my haki to try and help locate the bomb."_

 _The others—besides Sanji—looked relieved to hear that since they were sure that with Wren's haki they'd be able to find the bomb in no time._

 _"But, Wren-chan, you need to focus on the fight." Sanji said. "If you try to find the bomb as well, you could end up getting hurt."_

 _Wren went to assure him that he needn't worry, but be went on speaking before she could._

 _"Didn't you say the reason why you were taking out billions alone was so the rest of us could move freely enough to take care of anything else Crocodile has planned?" Sanji asked her. "Well, we can look for this bomb and stop it just fine on our own."_

 _Wren frowned not liking the slightly rebellious attitude coming off of Sanji. She knew he wasn't her subordinate or anything. She just wasn't used to people talking back to her like he is. Sanji then placed his hands on her shoulders._

 _"You focus on the Baroque Works billions." Sanji said. "I'd rather be here to help you, but know you won't take my help. So I can at least make sure you don't have to worry about anything else."_

 _Wren sighed knowing he was just trying to help her out, and as crewmates that's what they're supposed to do, right? She gently shrugged off his hands as she turned to face the billions who had come to collect Vivi's head._

 _"I will clear you all a path." Wren said. "After that, I'm leaving the bomb business to all of you, understood?"_

 _"Right!" The others said._

 _Wren nodded then unsheathed her sword as the billions tried to move in closer. She smirked about to show them that they messed with the wrong crew._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

So she's been going after members of Baroque Works since parting ways with her crew. Now there was only three minutes until the bomb was to go off. But she wouldn't worry about it. She had to have faith in the others to stop the explosion, and had to have faith in Luffy to defeat Crocodile. She had to focus on her own task, and that was taking care of these pests of Crocodile's. Wren then turned her head when she sensed someone going to attack her. It wasn't one of the billions, so she used the back of her sword to knock out the Royal Army solider.

"Sorry, sir, but I don't have time to explain what I'm doing." Wren said then moved on.

She found a few more Baroque Work billions, and they seemed to know who she was since they came seeking her out then surrounded her.

"Hey, are you the woman known as Corazon?!" One demanded. "You match the description given to us by the boss!"

"Crocodile moves fast." Wren said smirking. "To think he was already able to pass out my description to all you flunkies in such a short time. I will admit I am slightly impressed."

She then glanced up into the sky as red smoke shot up into the air. That had to be Usopp. Perhaps he found the bomb, or maybe figured out where it was, so he was gathering the others. Well, it looked as if she really could trust them to do things on their own.

"Hey, don't look away from us, Wench!" The Baroque Work billion ordered. "Answer the question! Are you Corazon or not?"

Wren let out a small sigh while turning her red eye onto the billion, and her gaze just showed how this man was boring her.

"If I match the description given to you by Crocodile, doesn't that already answer your question?" Wren asked with deadpanned expression. "I can see Crocodile didn't bother in trying to hire smarter help."

They blinked in confusion, but after a second, they seemed to realize they had been insulted since they all gave shouts of anger. They went to attack Wren, but blinked when seeing she was no longer in front of them.

"Too slow." She said from outside the circle they had made.

Before they could whirl around to face her, a shriek traveled around the group of men with large gashes appearing on their bodies. They all cried out in pain before falling to the ground with their blood soaking it. Their blood even stained the bottom of Wren's shoes, but she paid it no mind as she moved along. She paused, however, when the sound of gunshot entered the air. She looked up seeing Pell, who was in bird form, falling from the sky. He had been shot. She narrowed her eyes then looked towards where the shot had come from.

"The clock tower." Wren said.

She then realized it was the ideal place for Crocodile to hide that bomb. If he wanted the most causalities, he'd obviously want the bomb close and up high if it was being fired from a cannon. Her eye pinpointed a small gun barrel poking out from behind the clock face that was slightly pushed open.

"So that is where they are." Wren said as she gripped the hilt of her sword. "I should be able to cause damage to their cover from here."

Wren took a strong swords stance while taking in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She had to focus on her power and become one with her blade. She had to cut down the face of the clock to make it easier for the others to get inside to stop whoever is hiding up there. However, she had to be careful with how much power she used. If she used too much, she could cause damage to the bomb, which would set if off earlier. Wren let out her breath as her eye snapped open.

"Wailing Specter!" Wren said as she slashed forward.

This attack flew up towards the clock tower while sounding like one howling voice that raised in pitch as it went higher. It hit the clock face, and split it down the middle. As one half fell down towards the ground, the others who were gather around the clock tower gasped in shock while those fighting didn't even seem to notice. A second later another wailing slash followed to hit the two in the tower that Vivi had identified as Mr. 7 and Ms. Father's Day when they had poked out their heads earlier to look around (I know that didn't happen in canon, but I switched things up). The two both gagged on their blood before falling backwards unmoving.

"What…what was that?!" Usopp asked. "Who could have done that to them?"

Zoro narrowed his eyes while already having a good idea. There was only one swordswoman he knew that could pull of a flying slash attack like that.

"Wren!" Nami said in realization. "She's made us an opening!"

Sanji grinned from where he stood leaning out the window on the second floor. Now it should be easier to do Nami's plan. And he was glad to know she was alright. Sanji looked out into the chaos of battle while spotting Wren despite all the people running around and fighting. She was sheathing her sword while looking up at the clock tower.

"Okay, let's get things taken care of!" Nami ordered. "Wren gave us an opening, and we can't waste it! We don't know if just taking them out will end things, so we have to hurry."

"Right!" The others said.

As they got ready to go through with Nami's plan, Wren went back to work on cutting down the billions. Wren cut down a few more billions while having a feeling as if things still weren't resolved. A few more seconds passed, and suddenly there was a large explosion above the capital. Wren looked up while focusing up at the sky. She felt Pell's presence for a feeling moment before the feeling of the explosion drowned him out.

"That fool." Wren as she removed her hat and veil, from her head to get a better view, said as she realized he had taken the bomb out of the square.

It must have had some kind of timer, and wasn't just meant to be fired. Crocodile had a backup plan in case his men couldn't fire it from the cannon. She grit her teeth together while thinking Crocodile was a more formidable opponent than she thought. As the after blast of the bomb hit, some people were knocked backwards from the force. It even stopped the battle for a moment. However, as soon as those men were back on their feet, and Wren knew what was coming.

"Stop it!" Wren heard.

She turned her head seeing that marine sergeant Tashigi, who actually wasn't that far from Wren, trying to step in to top everyone.

"Are you out of your minds?" Tashigi asked.

Tashigi went to step forward, but Wren, put her sheathed sword, in front of the older woman to stop her. Tashigi turned her head while gasping when seeing Wren.

"I wouldn't get closer to them if I were you, Marine-san." Wren said.

As soon as she said that the men all roared in anger before engaging in battle once more. Tashigi stood there looking completely shocked by what was happening in front of them as more bodies fell to add to the death count of this war. She's never seen anything like this in her entire life.

"They all have been lost in the tide of war." Wren said. "It's easy for the human race to be drawn into the rage of war, and not pay attention to anything else but the battle. You have to work delicately when stopping something like this."

Tashigi said nothing at first as the men continued to fight all around them as if they weren't even there. Perhaps in their minds, Tashigi and her men and Wren weren't there. Perhaps they saw only enemies before them.

"Saturn Wren." Tashigi finally spoke up. "You're the pirate Ling-san told me about."

Wren lightly smiled when hearing Ling's name. Wren was hoping that Ling was taking care of the things that Wren had asked her to do. It would help not only bring this war to an end, but also mean Doflamingo couldn't make profit from the playthings Crocodile will be leaving behind once he is caught.

"How do you plan to stop this?" Tashigi asked as she looked out at the battle. "This…this is just madness."

"Yes, it is." Wren said as she started walking forward. "That is how all battles of this caliber are. You might be older than me, Marine-san, but you aren't as experienced as me when it comes to these short of things. Since it seems we pirates and you marines are on neutral terms right now, I ask you leave ending this war to me. Just please continue taking down the billions while avoiding the citizens and soldiers."

"But what are you going to do?!" Tashigi insisted.

Wren didn't reply as she continued to walk away from Tashigi who was continuing to call out to her. Wren ignored all the fighting and even Vivi's voice that was pleading for everything to stop. She couldn't let either hinder her since she had her own part to worry about. Wren moved to a building at the edge of the square while going up to the roof top. She looked towards the far west side of the capital to see smoke starting to build up. She smirked knowing what the cause of it was.

"So she did make it in time." Wren said. "I hope Crocodile won't mind that a few bags of dance power are missing from his ship. Not that he'll be needing them once all this is over."

Wren looked up towards the sky seeing the clouds starting to form above. It will be very soon. Wren then looked down when feeling a large disturbance underground. Her brow quirked wondering what was causing it for a moment. However, when she sensed a familiar presence, she chuckled.

"So that is where you ran off too, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "I was wondering where you went once your presence disappeared from the castle."

The disturbance became greater underground, and a few seconds later Crocodile came flying out from underneath the earth. As the ground cracked and shook violently from beneath.

"Hmm, look at that." Wren said looking up at Crocodile as she tipped her hat backwards to get a better view. "I have to say that Luffy-sama timed beating Crocodile perfectly. Now the war really is as good as over now, which means the final act is coming to a close on this battle."

Wren then had to jump down away from the building as it started tipping over due to Luffy's attack making the ground very unstable from where Crocodile popped out. Wren landed down in the chaos below, but wasn't too worried about it. Wren's small smile grew as others started to realize who was up in the sky and voiced their happiness about Luffy's victory. But the war still raged on. Not that Wren was surprised.

"Well, it should only take a second or two longer." Wren said not looking worried in the slightest about the fighting happening around her.

True to her word, a rain drop fell a moment later, and after that a few more, which started gaining the others attention. Soon it was a light downpour that brought everyone to a stop. It went completely silent for a moment as everyone looked up to the sky in awe. Wren knew everyone thought this was natural rain, and she was going to let them believe that. There was no reason for them to think otherwise. In fact, them believing so was the exactly what Wren wanted because she knew just a bit of rain, which was what everyone was desperate here for was all that was needed in the end.

"Stop fighting!" Wren heard Vivi's voice clear as day as did everyone else. "Please, listen to me!"

Everyone turned towards their princess's voice as Vivi stood tall and straight in the clock tower despite her appearance. Wren then sensed something—or rather someone—falling straight towards her from above. She stepped to the side while allowing Crocodile to hit the ground hard beside her. It wasn't as if she needed to cushion his fall. Nor did she want to.

"What an ungraceful landing for someone of your stature, Crocodile." Wren said as she looked down at his unconscious form. "Of course, I doubt you will be having that title much longer. I suppose they will need to start searching for a new Shichibukai. "

She then started walking away as people started to gawk at the fallen Shichibukai. However, she paused at the edge of the crowd to look back at Crocodile.

"I do not know if you will hear me, but please give Warden Mcgallen my best when you seem him once you're put in Impel Down." Wren added.

She then melted into the crowd thinking her job and the crew's job was done. Now it was just time to rest and recover. With the battle over it meant everyone good breathe easy.

"Well, the battle might be over, but there is still so much to go over." Wren said to herself.

* * *

Wren sat in a chair in the large room the crew had been placed in while wearing a simple dark blue robe like dress with belt around it, so to hold her sword. However, her sword was currently leaned against the wall next to. The others were asleep in their beds, and Wren should have went to bed hours go. However, she was having trouble falling asleep, which was something she's very used to. Besides, there were still a few things she needed to take care of.

Ling had come to see her a few hours ago when everyone first laid down. She had easily snuck into the palace, and brought Wren her report.

-FLASHBACK-

 _"Here's a complete inventory on the weapons and other goods Crocodile had." Ling said giving Wren a log book. "I already contacted one of your pals to pick it up while making sure that no one else even the marines couldn't find it. All the goods will be safe until your pal can get to them."_

 _"Thank-you, Ling-san." Wren said. "Your work is much appreciated."_

 _Ling just frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't look pleased in the slightest, which had Wren looking at her curiously. Wren was used to Ling not looking happy or not caring if Wren appreciated her work. However, Wren could tell something was bothering the older woman, and was sure Ling would voice what was bothering her soon since Ling is a blunt person who always speaks her mind after all._

 _"I'm not sure how I feel about that plan you had me go along with." Ling said. "Sure it worked, but it was definitely underhanded."_

 _Wren didn't even try to defend herself as she set the book Ling had given to her to the side._

 _"Yes, it was." Wren finally said. "I am a pirate after all. Underhanded is what I do best. Besides, that rain is what was needed to stop the war. And it worked, which is all I care about. You should know by now that I do whatever is necessary to make things go as I wish to end or start things as I please."_

 _Ling snorted because she did know that. Wren could be absolutely ruthless when she wanted something. She also didn't seem to care who she had to manipulate to get things moving or stopping. Ling learned this a long time ago, but didn't mean she had to like it. Ling then tilted her head to the side with something else slightly bothering her at the moment._

 _"I met up with Tashigi earlier." Ling said. "She told me that you two had an interaction. She asked you what you had planned…and you just explained you had more experience in this field. You probably have more than me. So tell me, how did you know the rain would work?"_

 _Wren was silent for a moment as she rested her chin in her hands that were laced together as her elbows were propped on the desk._

 _"As Tashigi-san said, what was happening was madness." Wren said. "Anything rational couldn't fix what was happening. What was needed…was a miracle. A miracle of rainfall in a kingdom that hasn't seen it in many years. Just a bit of rain to wash away the anger and sins."_

 _Ling gave Wren a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look that Wren pointedly ignored as she placed her glasses on her nose and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. However, she kept her bangs over her black-iris. She had some reading to get started on soon, but knew she had to wait until her business was done with Ling._

 _"A miracle, huh?" Ling asked. "More like a false miracle."_

 _Wren just chuckled at Ling's words then looked towards the window as the rain continued to fall. Ling frowned when hearing Wren's chuckle before looking out at the rain as well._

 _"This false miracle you made will end once the dance powder wears off, right?" Ling asked. "Won't everything just go back to the same as before?"_

 _She was certain things would definitely return to rocky is the rain ceased once more._

 _"The dance powder wore off a long time ago." Wren said chuckling. "This rain is 100% natural now. And any rain after this will be natural as well. This miracle I spoke of…just needed a little push, so there is no reason to worry about the state of this kingdom now."_

 _Ling's frowned deepened as Wren gave her an almost smug look. Ling and Wren then looked towards the door when sensing someone and an animal coming. Wren was certain it was certain princess and her duck companion that was coming this way._

 _"Guess I better get going." Ling said._

 _"Yes, until next time." Wren said waving. "Take care, Ling-san."_

 _Ling disappeared without giving her own farewell after that as the door opened to reveal Vivi and Karoo peeking inside._

 _"Wren-san, you're still awake." Vivi said looking surprised._

 _Wren just smiled at Vivi as the girl came in with her large duck. As Vivi was shutting the door behind her, Wren hid away the log book that Ling had brought her._

 _"I cannot sleep, but please make yourself comfortable." Wren said as she gestured Vivi and Karoo inside._

 _The princess and duck went past her to take a seat by the window near Luffy's bed. As Vivi got caught up in the rain, Wren looked back towards the log book she needed to get started reading. As she opened the book, she decided it was best to leave the crew out of this since this kind of business would only get them into trouble they weren't ready for. She would handle all the dealings in the underworld she had planned for Crocodile's things. She looked back at the others as they slept soundly. She swore she would keep them out of the darkness she grew up in. They might be pirates, but they won't become the kind of pirate she is if she could help it._

 _"Wren-san, is something wrong?" Vivi asked snapping Wren out of her thoughts._

 _Wren turned her head to look at Vivi and Karoo who were looking at her in concern._

 _"I am fine." Wren said. "Just thinking. Please, don't mind me."_

 _Wren turned back to the log book while ignoring the concerned looks still pointed at her._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Vivi and Karoo were still here, but they passed out an hour or so ago after Igaram had checked in on all of them. Wren has been looking through the log book during this entire time, and was seeing what kind of inventory she had to work with. It seemed as if she could make a pretty penny, or use what she had to ask for information if she needed to. But it wasn't as if she could start making calls now anyway.

"I suppose I have time to deal with this." Wren said. "I highly doubt we'll be leaving too soon. Not with everyone's injuries."

She shut the book while taking it with her over to the bed that had been left to her. She hid it between her mattresses then climbed into bed. As she covered herself, she turned on her side to look at her sleeping crewmates. She smiled at them as they snored away peacefully. Her eyes landed on Luffy last as he was snoring the loudest.

"Looks as if you proved me wrong, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "I really can put my faith in others….thank-you for showing me that."

Wren then closed her eyes with the peaceful smile still on her face. What she didn't realize was that Sanji had been watching her the entire time when he had woken to she see was still awake. He grinned hoping she got a goodnight's rest.

"Sweet dreams, Wren-chan." He said as he laid back to sleep as well.

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Coco: Okay, guys, just wanted to remind you that the next chapter is the last one of this arc, and that there will an SBS held at the end of the chapter. So if you have a question, please send them in :D


	23. Leaving Alabasta

Coco: Hey, guys, I know it's been a while since I last updated this story, but here's a chapter :D And it's the last in the Alabasta Arc. I hope you like it. And I apologize beforehand for any typos. I didn't proof read very thoroughly because it's been a rough last couple of a days. I was sick at the beginning of this week, and my boss held it over my head once I returned to work. Then I messed up yesterday, and the owner of the entire store got pissed over a $6.63 problem...and I went to cry in the bathroom since I'm super hard on myself and felt so stupid for causing so many problems. But that's all over, and I'm trying to have a good day today, and I hope I don't disappoint any of you with this chapter.

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Wren let out a small content sigh as she looked up at the sky above her as it was starting to darken due to the sun setting. It was a clear day with the rain having stopped. It was also the third day since the battle was over, and Luffy had yet to wake. However, as Wren was helping see to everyone's injuries with Chopper instructing her what to do for certain injuries, the young doctor assured her that Luffy would wake once he rested enough. So she put that to rest, and completely focused on the business she had to handle, which led to the little meeting she was having now outside the palace garden where she was drinking tea.

"So you were able to collect everything?" Wren asked the person standing in the shadow of the palace. "Nothing was left to be scavenged, correct?"

The person nodded their head while folding their arms across their chest as they were leaning against the wall.

"I didn't leave anything behind, Wren-sama." The person, who had a clearly masculine voice, said. "I packed it all up, and have it ready to move underwater with my team."

Wren smirked pleased with this news before she took a sip of tea from her cup. This Alabasta Tea actually had a very unique flavor that was quite to her liking. Perhaps she should purchase some before the crew leaves, which will most likely be soon. The crew has been here for the last few days, and it was only a matter of time that Luffy woke. Once the Captain is awake there will be nothing keeping them here.

"Thank-you, Lily." Wren said as she turned a kind smile towards him. "I appreciate your work. I know it mustn't have been easy to get here fast enough to collect everything I asked of you."

Lily, who seemed to be in his early twenties, chuckled before stepping out of the shadows partially to be illuminated by the setting sun. He had ginger colored hair that was darker in tint compared to Nami's hair. He was tall enough to be at least a few inches taller than Sanji and Zoro and had a muscular figure. He looked almost like any normal human. However, he did have sharp pointed teeth that almost looked as if they belonged to a shark. Then on his cheeks were three black stripes each. His eyes were a pale yellow color with cat like slits for pupils. Finally on his neck, there were gills that seemed out of place on a human if he even was that.

The man wore a yellow tank top under a vibrant red tropical shirt that had fellow hibiscus flowers decorating it. He had on baggy brown shorts that stopped at his knees, and the shorts were being held up by a simple tanned belt. On his feet were sandals much like the ones Luffy were wearing, and around his neck was a brown thong necklace that was decorated with small white shells. Then there was another necklace around his neck, and attached to it were two rings that looked like wedding rings.

"It was my pleasure, Wren-sama." Lily said. "And think nothing of it. I was in the area when I got the call from our friend. And I'll be sure to use what we took form Crocodile for our cause as you ordered."

Wren thanked Lily again before sensing Sanji heading this way. Lily sensed the new arrival as well, so he gave a final bow to Wren before he faded back into the shadows.

"Wren-chan, there you are." Sanji said as he came into sight. "Luffy's awake now, and we'll be having dinner shortly if you wish to join us, my dear."

"I see." Wren said as she smiled at Sanji. "Well, I do feel a bit hungry, so dinner does sound lovely."

Sanji grinned at her in return then offered to clean up after her afternoon tea as she stood up.

"You don't have to trouble yourself, Sanji-san." Wren assured him. "Though I thank-you."

Wren went to pick up her things herself, but Sanji still grabbed more than half of it.

"Please, allow me to at least help you, Wren-chan." Sanji insisted.

Wren, who was now used to his insistence of helping women, lightly chuckled in amusement.

"If you must." Wren said. "Thank-you."

As they walked, Sanji glanced down at Wren. There have been some things he's been wanting to ask her. Like how things ended between her and Elspeth. He didn't know what happened. If Wren just defeated the girl, or if Wren killed her. He knew the battle had to be mostly one-sided since Wren didn't have a mark on her when he saw her once more.

"What is it that you wish say?" Wren's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Sanji blinked with his eye widening when he saw Wren was looking directly up at him.

"Oh, I…" Sanji trailed off before taking a deep breath. "Wren-chan how did you leave things with Elspeth-san? Is she….?"

Wren sighed looking forward while not surprised that Sanji finally asked. She was waiting for him to for the last three days.

"She isn't dead." Wren said. "In fact, I didn't have to leave even a tiny wound on her to defeat her. Not a physical wound anyway. I just told her the truth. El-chan had always been left in the dark because I didn't want her mixed up in my true objection. I just told her exactly what she believed that she was useless to be as a pawn in this game, so I didn't need her at my side."

Sanji lightly frowned knowing that had to be hard for Elspeth to hear from Wren who she had obviously cared about despite speaking of Wren with so much hate in her voice.

"Now any ties we had were cut, so she may live a better life away from the Underworld that is controlled by Doflamingo." Wren said. "And a life away from me…someone is on a path that will be full of pain, bloodshed, and death. She's still young, so she can may a better life for herself, which is something I never had the chance of doing."

Sanji's eyes widened partially, but he now understood that Wren wasn't just being cruel like Elspeth accused her of. Wren did what she did, so Elspeth would have a chance at a normal life. A happy life…something Wren herself was robbed of as a young girl. Sanji smiled down at Wren, who had turned away from him a moment, but she had looked back at him while catching his smile.

"What is it?" Wren asked. "What are you smiling like that?"

Sanji just chuckled as he looked away from Wren as the two of them were still walking into the palace to put away the tea set she had been using.

"Nothing in particular, Wren-chan." Sanji said.

Wren's brow quirked, and when she was about to press the matter, she heard a familiarly loud voice calling out to Sanji and Wren, which had the both of them pausing to look up.

"Sanji, Wren, there you are!" Luffy shouted from a top some steps in the palace. "Hey!"

He waved down at them, and as Sanji rolled his eyes in annoyance, Wren lightly chuckled.

"It is good to see the captain is awake." Wren said as she continued walking. "Perhaps now we can finally leave this country to continue our journey."

And she was hoping they could leave without a hitch. As in, no more surprises or excitement. Of course, with this crew there was telling what might happen.

* * *

"Well, things just keep getting exciting, don't they?" Wren said as more cannonballs fall around them.

Her wish to leave peacefully obviously didn't happen, but it wasn't as if she was surprised. Though she had been slightly surprised when she saw Elspeth again. Apparently, the youth decided to stick around with Bon Clay, who had hijacked their ship earlier to hide it, and the two had ended up captured by the marines, so Wren and her crew could get away. Wren was worried about Elspeth was certain the girl could handle prison even if that prison was Impel Down. There's nothing that's really been able to crack that girl.

Those marines sure had been a pain as well. Wren had been able to take down two of the ships, but then had been locked in a fight with Black Cage Hina, which meant she couldn't have helped her crew. She was called to retreat by Luffy, who was in all honesty Bon Clay. He ordered her to his ship, but when the marines started attacking, Wren had escaped on one of her creatures back to the Going Merry. That was where they parted ways as "friends", and Wren would admit she supposed Bon Clay did make a good ally.

After that they had went to wait for Vivi on the east shore. Though had to continue fighting off marines as they waited for her. Wren sunk as many ships as possible, so there wouldn't be enough ships to follow them afterwards. However, after finding Vivi on the eastern shore, she let them know that she couldn't join them on their adventure. Wren had thought that best since in the long run Vivi wasn't made for the pirate life. Besides, her people needed her here. And even if they couldn't give verbal goodbyes, they made sure she knew they would remember their friendship by rising their arms into the sky to show the "x" marks on their arms.

Wren had at first been embarrassed to do such a thing since it seemed something like a child would do. However, Sanji talked her into it. Though they couldn't stand around holding up their arms for long since they had more marines to deal with soon enough. They were still following the ship, and marine really was getting tired of them.

"These marines are starting to try my patience." Wren said as she moved to stand up on the railing.

She then jumped up to start slicing down the cannonballs that fell into the water with loud splashes. She landed back onto the railing as Usopp and Chopper were taking care of the damages below, but not fast enough since the marines were getting closer.

"Wren, can't you sink them?!" Nami asked as she was hunkered down around the mast.

"I could try." Wren said. "However, the ship is shaking too much. I could miss my mark."

Nami groaned in despair as Wren sliced down more cannonballs to send them crashing into the ocean.

"We'll lend you a hand." Zoro said as he, Luffy, and Sanji stepped up to help.

However, they tripped over the large iron spikes that Usopp told them to keep on deck.

"What's this?!" The boys demanded looking pissed.

"Oh that?" Nami asked. "Usopp said to hold onto them in case we needed them for something. Who knows?"

Though Wren had to admit they really didn't have the storage to hold those spikes. Also, the heaviness of them probably wasn't helping them make a speedy get away either.

"Come on!" Zoro growled in aggravation.

"They're in our way!" Sanji snapped angrier at Usopp's idiocy than the ladies, of course.

"I'll get rid of them." Luffy said calmly.

And get rid of them he did. Wren watched in amazement how Luffy just randomly threw the spikes off the ship behind his back yet still managed to hit the three marine ships with every single one of them. Well, that was one way to deal with the problem, she supposed. Zoro and Sanji stared in shock as well as Luffy dusted off his hands.

"Okay," Luffy said grinning as he turned around. "Now we ready?"

Luffy blinked at the damage he caused as everyone else just kind of stared for a second to. Luffy always seemed able to amaze Wren with his talent for doing the things that should be illogically impossible.

"Now's our chance!" Zoro said as he snapped out of it first. "Full speed ahead. Shake them off!"

The others quickly got out of there as Wren was looking towards the door to the pantry. She knew sooner or later she would have to deal with the stowaway. However, they were a bit busy at the moment, so they didn't have the time. It didn't matter who was hiding away anyway. Wren would deal with this stowaway promptly and with ease once things calmed down. This person better how one of her crewmates are quick enough to stop her before their head rolls from their body.

* * *

"Looks like the marines have stopped following us." Zoro said looking back at the clear water.

"While that is a good thing," Wren began. "I don't believe our crewmates are in the mood to be happy."

Zoro turned to her in confusion, so she pointed behind her shoulder to where the others were laying on the upper deck with their heads and arms pushed through the gapes in the railing. They all let out upset groans as their arms hung down and heads held low.

"Come on, that's good news." Zoro said to them. "We shook them off!"

They just let out more groans, which was starting to annoy the hell out of Zoro.

"Stop it!" Zoro ordered. "What's with the pathetic groans?"

"I think they are missing a certain princess." Wren said as she sat calmly at the table on the deck while drinking tea.

All the others voiced their agreement as tears started to leak from their eyes down their cheeks. Wren knew it shouldn't be funny, but she did find amusement in their behavior, which brought a chuckle from her lips.

"That's enough whining." Zoro said sternly. "If you wanted her to join that bad then you shouldn't have let her leave."

His words were met with insults from their crewmates to him, but he didn't really seemed fazed by them. He turned to Wren as if expecting some kind of help though.

"I do agree with Zoro-san." Wren said. "We are pirates, aren't we? We take what we want when want, and feel no remorse afterwards. Not that I cared if Vivi-san joined us or not."

"That's just cold, Wren." Nami said frowning.

Wren delicately shrugged her shoulders knowing it might be, but she wasn't going to take it back.

"Now that all the excitement is over I think we finally need to deal with the stowaway on our ship." Wren said then took a sip of tea.

The others looked at her in confusion when suddenly the door to the storage room was opened. Nico Robin walked out looking as calm as ever, but Wren would soon give her a reason to feel nervous.

"Looks like we finally escaped the firing squad." She said casually as the others stared at her in shock.

However, Zoro quickly grabbed a hold of his Ichimonji as the others jumped to their feet.

"Here to avenge your friends?" Zoro asked. "Just try it."

"What the heck are you doing here?!" Nami demanded.

Beside her, Usopp and Chopper were freaking out as the prior was giving a warning to the ship of the intruder. Though Wren was certain they were all aware of the intruder now. As the group—besides Wren—surrounded Nico Robin, some looked ready to fight while others did not.

"Who's she?" Chopper asked as he hung on the stair railing with Sanji beside him.

"I don't know." Sanji said. "But she's so damn beautiful."

Robin just calmly walked to the side while not seeming worried about the weapons pointed at her. She then used her devil fruit to knock Zoro and Nami's weapons from their arms. She turned to smirk at them looking so damn pleased with herself.

"Didn't I tell you before?" Robin asked. "Don't point such dangerous objects at me. Are you always so slow?"

"How long have you been on our ship?" Nami demanded.

"Since we joined up with Bon Clay-san and Elspeth-chan and their crew." Wren said.

Her crewmates looked at her in shock as she just calmly continued to enjoy tea time at her leisure.

"And you didn't say anything?!" Nami shouted.

"We've been quite busy." Wren said. "I thought mentioning the stowaway would only add more stress that wasn't needed at the time. However, don't worry. I can handle this one on my own."

It crew tensely silent as Wren and Robin locked eyes while Wren stood up onto her feet.

"And who are you exactly?" Robin asked. "I don't remember seeing you all through this battle in Alabasta."

"No, but I am certain you heard my voice." Wren said. "Hello, Nico Robin, my name is Saturn Wren, but you may know me as Corazon."

Robin's eyes widened when Wren said that since she had no idea this woman here was the Corazon who had wounded Crocodile. If Crocodile hadn't fled when he did, this woman probably would have defeated, which would have brought things to a faster halt.

"You…you're Corazon?" Robin asked. "The Commander of the Corazon Army… the holder of the Heart Seat in Doflamingo's crew?"

Her crewmates looked confused when Robin said all this as they looked between Robin and Wren.

"My, my, you know a lot of my former crew." Wren said. "However, I technically no longer hold those titles or positions. I am just Saturn Wren now. But I knew the mention of my previous name would be enough to put the fear in Crocodile. None of that is important now. What is important is deciding how to deal with you. If you think disarming me will be as easy as my crewmates, you'll learn how wrong you are, and that mistake could be your last."

Wren narrowed her visible eye at Robin, and it felt as if someone reached inside her chest to clench her heart painfully.

"The only reason why you're still breathing right now is because my captain hasn't given an order to eliminate you." Wren said then glanced at Luffy. "What are your orders, Luffy-sama? Shall I get rid of her?"

"Just one second." Luffy said. "I want to know why she's on the ship."

Wren nodded her head in understanding before going back to her tea as if she just hadn't threatened to kill someone. As she took a sip of her tea, she was certain they would be gaining a new crewmate. It just seemed like her captain to take anyone onto the crew if they needed a place to go, or if he found them interesting. After all, he did let someone like her of all people join this crew. After Robin explained what happened, and why she was here, Luffy gave her permission to stay, which hadn't surprised Wren a bit though the others—minus Sanji—seemed very upset.

"If that is the Captain's orders, I won't go against them." Wren said then glanced at Robin. "However, the second I sense you are a danger to this crew, I'll kill you without a second of hesitation. You can try to kill me before hand, but I assure you…you will lose."

Robin stood stiffly while trying not to show the fear that Wren put inside of her. This young woman…she was someone not to be messed with, and Robin would be sure to watch her step around Wren who she knew wouldn't hesitate to follow through with her threat.

"However, if you play nice, I will as well." Wren said as she let a small smile appear on her face. "So I welcome you to the crew, Nico Robin."

* * *

Wren let out a hum as she had breakfast with the others in the Galley the next morning. She was reading the newspaper as Nami was telling the crew their next destination.

"Using the books I took from Alabasta, I discovered that the next island we will be heading for is an island known as Romani Island." Nami said. "It's a large spring island that supposedly has vast culture along with a large cathedral in the center."

Wren looked up when Nami mentioned Romani Island. Wren knew it well since she's been their often to visit one of her informants whenever the slightly younger girl was on leave.

"It sounds like a place that would be full of history." Robin said looking intrigued.

"Romani Island does have rich history." Wren said. "Whether it be about the religion or the people there is always something there to gain a person's interest."

"Have you been there before, Wren?" Usopp asked.

"Yes, but it seems like such a long time ago." Wren said with a faraway look in her eyes.

* * *

Coco: Hello, Readers, and welcome to the first SBS corner of this story! Anyway, let's get started, alright? Our first question comes from Momochan77!

Momochan77: I've got a question for Wren! What's your favorite thing about each of your Straw hat crew members? Like something about that person that you find admirable?

Wren: Hmm, where to begin? I suppose I should start with Luffy-sama. Even if Luffy-sama isn't the smartest captain I've ever met, I admire his devotion to his nakama. It is obvious that he cares about all his friends and would do anything for them even if it means taking all their pain. It's his kindheartedness that I admire the most, and a part of me is envious that he can be so kindhearted.

Then as for Zoro-san, I admire his determination to reach his ambition. It is obvious that he won't let anything stop him from reaching his goal, or stop him from continuing his journey with his nakama. Some people might call his determination stubbornness, and to some extent they might be right. However, I still find it as an admirable trait.

For Nami-san, I am quite impressed with her intelligence, which she obviously knows how to use. Whether it be finding the right route to a new island, or trying to work out a difficult problem, I know Nami-san can work everything out without fail. It is also nice having intellectual conversations with someone who understands.

Some people might say there isn't much to admire about Usopp-san since he is a liar and in some ways a coward. However, I think he is brave as well because despite his fears, he is still there to help when needed. I know if any of us ever were in need of help that Usopp-san would try to help, so I admire his loyalty that even extends to our dear ship the Going Merry.

What I admire about Sanji-san is…hmm, it is hard to explain what I admire about Sanji-san. He is still very confusing to me. I am still trying to work him out exactly. However, I do admire his love for his cooking. It must be nice having something to love as much as he does cooking. I have so much time focused on my goal that I never explored having such a passion as Sanji-san does for cooking. In simple terms I suppose I admire Sanji-san's passion.

As for Chopper-chan, I admire his resolve to treat all disease because he believes no disease in incurable, and how he has resolved himself to fight just like pirates in pursuing his dream.

I suppose what you can say is that I admire how all my crewmates follow their dreams and passions without falter. They all have faith in each other, and are determined to do what they must do to reach dreams that others might mock them for. However, they won't let the mocking of others deter them, and I have faith they will reach their dreams someday even if I won't be there to witness it all.

Coco: Okay, next question, which is from a guest review.

Guest: Do you perhaps know the translation of wren's sword, Banshī because I've been seriously curious about that for a while now.

Coco: Banshī is translated out to Banshee. Wren's sword creates screams to use as attacks, so I thought it'd be the perfect name for it. There is also a back story to Wren's sword that will be told later on to explain how Banshī got its name.

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.

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That's the end of the SBS, I'm afraid since those were the only questions given to me, but perhaps at the end of the next arc there will be more. Also the next arc will be one of my own non-canon arc to introduce Theodosia. Then I won't be doing the One Piece fillers. Not all of them, but I do want to do the Rainbow Mist Arc since I like that one, and it'll give more time for Theodosia to spend with the crew before the next major arc, which is Skypeia . Until next time :D


	24. Tales of Theodosia the Gypsy

Wren sat on the deck of the ship reading a novel under the shade of the umbrella. Nami was with her as was Robin. Wren didn't mind Nami's company in the slightest. However, Robin's company was something she could do without. It was obvious that neither woman trusted the other, and sometimes the others got the feeling the two women were plotting against each other. Or playing an internal game of chess to try to gain the upper hand on the other. Neither woman mentioned this aloud, and went on with their business while basically looking as if they were ignoring each other's presence. Today was no different than yesterday or the day before with them, and Nami didn't like the tension that was obviously present.

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy's voice cut through the tense silence Nami was feeling. "I'm hungry! When's lunch?!"

For once Nami was grateful for Luffy's loudmouth though she couldn't believe he was completely oblivious to the tension between two of his crewmates. Luffy was the only one of them that didn't seem to notice that Wren and Robin didn't like each other.

"Luffy, for the last time it'll be ready soon!" Sanji snapped as he poked his head outside the galley. "Just hold on."

Luffy whined obviously not wishing to hold on as Sanji asked him to do. He obviously wanted food as soon as possible, which wasn't unusual.

"Luffy-sama, you may have some of the teacakes that Sanji-san made me earlier." Wren said looking towards Luffy. "I've had my fill, and there is no reason they should go to waste."

Luffy cheered while hurrying over to the table where the women were. He immediately grabbed the plate that held the cakes to stuff them into his mouth. Nami grimaced at his eating habits as he munched loudly on cake if that was possible. Wren sighed as she shook her head.

"You and Ace-san both have horrible eating manners, Luffy-sama." Wren said as she slightly pinched his cheek in the same manner she does when scolding Ace. "Sometimes I wonder if you were raised by animals."

Luffy, who wasn't hindered or hurting by Wren's pinching, just continued eating while not commenting. Something Wren has noticed is that Luffy doesn't share much about his past. She's learned why his hat was so important to him a little while ago, and that he knew one of the Yonko who had been the owner of said hat. Though Luffy didn't seem to know that Shanks was such an important figure. She also knew he came from the East Blue, and that he lived on Dawn Island. She didn't know much about the place since there was nothing that notable about it.

However, she was sure she could gather information on it and some of Luffy's past. However, she decided not to do so since she didn't wish to be nosy of her crewmates' past. Well, maybe Robin's since Wren didn't trust that woman in the least. In fact, Wren has already sent out word that she wants as much information as possible on the older woman. She was sure she would hear something soon enough. Though she already knows some of the woman since she did a bit of research on her when Elspeth first reported meeting the woman.

"He probably was." Nami said frowning at Luffy as Wren released his cheek that snapped back into place. "It's the only explanation."

Wren lightly chuckled at Nami's gripping as Luffy easily finished off the rest of the teacakes. Wren then returned to her novel as she poured herself a cup of tea without even having to look. She then set the pot down to pick up the cup to take sip while not removing her eye from her book.

"Hey, Wren," Chopper began as he was sitting with Usopp who was tinkering as usual. "What are you reading? You seem really interested in it."

"It's probably a girly romance novel." Usopp took a guess. "You know how women are. They always have their heads in the clouds thinking about romance and stuff."

Nami frowned taking offense to that. Robin just ignored the comment since Usopp wouldn't be the first man who ever made that kind of comment in her presence. She didn't see the point in getting worked up over it. Wren's lips turned up into an amused grin as she looked over at the sharpshooter.

"Actually it's a quite interesting book on murder and how to get away with it." Wren said. "So many interesting things I could try."

Usopp paled as he looked to Wren who had a mischievous smirk on her face. He gulped while quickly looking away. Wren chuckled then took another sip of her tea as Nami and even Robin looked amused.

"You're horrible." Nami said though she was giggling.

"I never claimed to be sweet or innocent." Wren said simply as she shrugged. "Being horrible is something I excel at, and it's quite fun."

Nami shook her head in amusement before looking up when a breeze blew in with a slight change of the temperature.

"It's getting cooler." Nami said. "More like a spring. We must have reached the next island's atmosphere."

"Woo, really, Nami?!" Luffy asked excitedly. "Do you know what island we're going to, huh?! It is exciting?!"

Nami was about to retort that there was no way for her to know when Wren spoke up first.

"Considering the direction we took once leaving Alabasta then the next island must be Romani Island." Wren said as she closed her book.

Her crewmates looked at her curiously as she crossed one leg over the other at the table while placing her book on the table.

"Romani Island?" Chopper asked.

"Yes, Romani Island is a spring island here on the Grand Line full of rich history of two different cultures." Wren said. "Two cultures that have been at odds with each other for many years. One culture being the gypsies who wish to live free lives and without worry, and the other being that of the church who wishes to oppress them. These two cultures have had a rocky coexistence for generations where one little thing could break the thin foundation of coexistence they have."

This had everyone looking at Wren intrigued with even Zoro, who had been seemingly napping off to the side, opening one eye to look towards Wren as Sanji remained in the kitchen.

"There have been several times where the entire island almost broke into a civil war, but a peace of sorts was made before that could happen." Wren continued.

"What was the fighting usually about?" Usopp asked.

"The Church doesn't like people who don't believe the way they do." Wren said. "They don't tolerate anything they might view as immoral. The gypsies are free-spirited who live life as they please and with their own beliefs that clash with the Church. The Church has even accused the gypsies of being the devil's allies and practitioners of witchcraft, and they that it would be divine righteousness if they punished these naysayers as they call them. The gypsy people aren't looking for conflict, but one can only handle some many of their people being persecuted and executed before stepping up to take action."

Robin hummed while not surprised to hear any of this. There are many times in history where countries go to war because of different religious beliefs. In fact, religion is one of the leading causes of wars being started.

"When the threat of war isn't lingering overhead, it is a nice place to visit." Wren said. "The gypsy people are very welcoming to newcomers, and are always looking for reasons to celebrate. So I expect there will be plenty of fun for you, Luffy-sama."

"Awesome!" Luffy cheered.

He, Chopper, and Usopp then danced around merrily at the thought of a party as Nami rolled her eyes. Though she was curious about what could happen. She just hopes that these two cultures weren't ready to go at each other's throats again any time soon.

"You seem to know a lot about this place, Wren." Zoro spoke up. "Have you visited there often?"

"You could say that." Wren said smiling. "A friend of mine lives on the island, and once we arrive, I am certain she will wish to show us the best Romani Island has to offer."

* * *

Music played in the outskirts of the City of Notre Dame as a young woman played sat back laughing and clapping while her sister danced for everyone. She had scruffy, sandy brown hair that fell to her chin, and her bangs fell to the right side of her face. She had lightly tanned skin and a curved figure that was slightly covered up due to her loose, partially baggy clothing. There were no sign of scars or blemishes on her visible skin, but whether she had no marks whatsoever was unknown. Her eyes, which were framed by long, dark lashes were a golden color that could be described as golden sunlight. She had a playful grin on her face, and it looked so natural there that it made it seem as if she had that grin on her face often.

She wore a loose fitting white top with off the shoulder sleeves. The sleeves went down to her elbows with ruffles at the ends, but the rest of the shirt was pretty plain. Then she had on a pair of slightly baggy capris that were a wild pattern with many colors thrown into the mix. The bottoms of her capris went into her brown boots that went partially over her knees, and had darker brown buckles fastening them together. Wrapped around her waist was a black scarf, and to the left side the ends of the scarf rested against her hip with its fringe sticking out. The scarf helped hold her two hooked swords to her hip as well. Then wrapped around her head like a bandana was a red scarf with colorful flower patterns going across it. To complete her look she had a few bangles on her wrists.

"Why don't you get in there, Pen*?" A young boy asked as he sat next to the woman.

The woman looked to the boy who had the same color eyes as her, but with raven colored hair.

"I believe Esmeralda is dancing fine on her own, Nicu." The woman said as their eldest sister continued to dance while the music played.

The boy—Nicu—lightly rolled his eyes as a small monkey clambered onto the woman's shoulder. It made some "tek-tek" noises as it jumped onto the barrel in front of the pair. It did some dance like movements then pointed at the woman.

"Even Samba wants you to dance." Nicu said smiling. "Come on, Theo, dance!"

Theodosia sighed at her brother as he looked at her with a hopeful expression. Before she could decline once more, Esmeralda danced around to them to grab Theodosia's hands. Esmeralda's green eyes looked into Theodosia's golden ones while smiling.

"You always dance beautifully." Esmeralda said. "So dance with me."

Then before Theodosia could protest, Nicu had taken her swords since they would have gotten in the way as Esmeralda pulled her onto her feet. The crowd cheered as the musicians picked another tune to play. Theodosia sighed though she had a smile on her face. The two started dancing with the crowd clapping to the beat the musicians were playing. The two sisters mirrored each other's movements while twirling gracefully around the fire pit in the center.

As they danced, Theodosia took one of the tambourines to shake and lightly hit against her hip to the rhythm. She laughed enjoying herself, which brought a smile to Esmeralda's face. Nicu clapped for his sisters when someone stepped up next time him. He looked up at his father Clopin as the leader of the gypsies watched his people enjoy themselves.

"It's good to see everyone having a good time." Clopin said as he sat down on the seat that Theodosia left unoccupied.

"Te-tek-teky." Samba chittered while climbing onto Clopin's shoulder.

She sounded as if she was agreeing with Clopin, which had the man chuckling in amusement.

"Father, did you just return from your meeting with Aldric?" Nicu asked.

Clopin sighed, which answered Nicu's question and then some. The meeting happened, and it hadn't ended well obviously.

"Does this mean we have to go with the back of plan the gypsy council decided?" Nicu asked.

As the next leader of his people, Nicu sat in on many council meetings as did his sisters, and all three siblings didn't like this new plan the council elders had come up with. In fact, Nicu had protested it the loudest to the point he had been asked to leave the council meeting.

"I do not like this decision just as much as you, Son, but it seems as if we have no other choice." Clopin said. "The necessary preparations were made days before this meeting with Aldric took place. We should be expecting _her_ arrival anytime today."

Nicu frowned then looked back towards his sisters. This wouldn't be far to either of them. They shouldn't have to go along with what would come to pass. Just then one of their watchers came running into the camp, which brought all the music, dancing, and celebrating to a halt.

"She's returned." He said as he huffed slightly out of breath.

Clopin's brow quirked when he said "returned" because the woman he was speaking of earlier has never come to Romani Island. However, Theodosia perked up when the watcher said this.

"She's back?" Theodosia asked stepping up, which had the watcher nodding.

When she asked, Clopin immediately knew of whom the watcher was speaking of now. It seems as if the Princess finally returned to Romani Island. A second later Theodosia, who had quickly grabbed her swords and Samba, was running towards the shoreline where she knew Wren would be since it was where Wren always docked when coming to Romani Island.

"And there she does." Clopin said chuckling.

"Can you blame her, Father?" Esmeralda asked. "Theo hasn't gotten to see Wren-san in person for quite some time now. The two are close after all."

"Yes," Clopin said. "And we owe Saturn Wren so much."

He then stood up, which had all his people looking towards him with expecting grins on all their faces.

"Prepare a feast for our guests!" Clopin called out while expecting Wren to be here with at least Raelin. "Tonight we celebrate the return of a heroine!"

Everyone cheered before hurrying to prepare for Wren's arrival. As they were doing that, Nicu stood to the side thinking that if anyone could solve their problems before that other guest arrived, it was Wren. If she could settle things in time, neither of his sisters would have to suffer. He glanced around making sure no one was looking before he slunk off with his own plans in mind.

* * *

"Nami, why are we docking the ship here?" Usopp asked the boys were pulling up the sails and dropping the anchor.

"Wren said this was a safer place for us to dock since we're pirates." Nami said shrugging. "Considering she's been here before, I'm taking her word for it."

Usopp shrugged guessing that made sense. Pirates weren't welcome many places, so he was certain that things wouldn't be any different here. So he guessed it was better they didn't dock at the island's peer.

"Where is Wren anyway?" Chopper asked looking around.

"Take a guess." Zoro said pointing towards the shore.

Chopper and Usopp looked towards the shore seeing that Wren and Luffy both were already off the ship. Luffy was looking around excitedly as Wren was already heading towards a path that laid between a large crack in the cliff side that went along the shore.

"As usual Luffy's off the ship first." Nami said rolling her eyes. "And Wren isn't thinking about waiting for the rest of us."

"Wren-chwan, wait for me, my love!" Sanji called after the woman.

He quickly left the ship to hurry after Wren who paused to wait for the blonde and Luffy who hurried along when seeing Wren ahead of him.

"Don't just go off without the rest of us!" Nami shouted after them. "Someone needs to watch the ship, ya know!"

After the words left her mouth, Wren snapped her fingers with a few wolf bats appearing on deck. The made growling noises that didn't sound too threatening, which had Nami believing they were trying to talk.

"They said, _'We'll watch things while you're away.'_ " Chopper translated.

"Good." Nami said as she placed her hands on her hips. "But the ship better be the same way we left it when we get back."

One of the wolf bats snorted at her attempt to scare them, but besides that they all nodded to the redhead.

"Guess that settles that." Zoro said as he left the ship as well. "I want to see what kind of booze these gypsies have."

"Of course, it's about the alcohol with you." Usopp said as he and Chopper followed after him.

Nami and Robin were the last to leave the ship with Nami grumbling about impatient crewmates. Robin chuckled in slight amusement at Nami's grumbling as Wren and Luffy kept the lead of the group. Sanji wasn't far behind as he fawned over Wren for being such a "leader", which Wren ignored for the most part. As they reached the top of the path, there was a young woman standing there looking expectantly as if she knew the Straw Hats would be coming up this path.

"Who's that?" Luffy asked.

Wren gave a small genuine smile as she stepped up to the young woman who grinned brightly.

"Theodosia, so nice of you to come and greet us." Wren said.

The woman—Theodosia—bowed to Wren as the group started to realize that Theodosia was like Raelin. She too was one of Wren's informants and followers.

"Welcome back to Romani, Wren-sama." Theodosia said as she looked up at Wren. "I'm so happy to see you! We both are, aren't we, Samba-chan?"

Suddenly a monkey appeared on Theodosia's shoulder, and it chittered at Wren seeming equally as happy. It jumped onto Wren's shoulder with it snuggling against her neck. Wren chuckled in amusement while patting the monkey on top the head. Theodosia then noticed the people with Wren, which had her jumping to her feet.

"Wren-sama, are these the people that Rae-chan mentioned when she last sent out a message to all of us?" Theodosia asked as she stood back up. "The Straw Hats?"

Nami blinked wondering when Raelin had sent out a message to the others of Wren's followers. It also had her wondering just how many people were loyal to the Nightmare Witch.

"Yes, Theodosia." Wren said. "These are the Straw Hat pirates. They are giving me safe passage through the Grand Line."

Theodosia smiled brightly before reaching out for Luffy's hands since he was closest.

"Thank-you for taking care of, Wren-sama." Theodosia said as she shook his hands. "There must be a way to repay you!"

"Give me food." Luffy said bluntly.

Wren light chuckled at Luffy's blunt reply as Sanji whacked Luffy on top of the head.

"Luffy, don't be rude, dammit!" Sanji said.

"Sanji, you didn't want to hit me!" Luffy whined. "I just want food!"

Sanji was about to hit Luffy again, but stopped when Wren gently grabbed his arm to stop him. He immediately turned into goo as Wren kept hold of his arm.

"Of course, you can have food!" Theodosia said to Luffy. "You can have as much food as you want, Luffy-chan. With Wren-sama's return my people are surely already preparing a feast. Tonight we will throw a party for her return and to welcome you all."

Luffy grinned liking the sound of that since he was completely starving at this point.

"That's very kind of you, Theodosia." Wren, who still held Sanji's arm as said blonde moved his arm, so it looked as if he was escorting her, said as the group started walking again. "I always do enjoy the parties your father puts together."

Theodosia smiled glad to hear Wren enjoys herself every time they throw her a party. Theodosia was about to tell Wren her people have recently caught a large wild boar, so the meat should be good tonight. However, before she could Nicu, who seemed out of breath, ran up to them.

"Nicu, what are you doing here?" Theodosia asked curiously.

Nicu raised his head to look directly at Wren, which had the young woman's brow quirking. Sanji frowned while about to ask the kid what was up with his staring problem.

"Nicu-kun, it has been a while." Wren said. "Have you come to greet us as well?"

"Wren, we need your help!" Nicu said cutting to the chase of why he was here.

Theodosia's eyes widened wondering if Nicu was really prepared to already spill the council's decision. Wren frowned wondering what was wrong, and if something was wrong, why didn't Theodosia mention it immediately?

"Nicu, stop now before you say too much." Theodosia warned.

Nicu shook his head as he walked up to Wren who waited to hear what was going on.

"Wren, I know you have already done much for my people, but we need your help once more!" Nicu said. "If things aren't resolved, Esmeralda or Theodosia could be taken away from us!"

His urgent tone had the Straw Hats exchanging looks as Wren's visible eye narrowed.

"Nicu, you say too much!" Theodosia said. "Father wanted no one outside our people knowing! I—!"

Theodosia stopped talking abruptly as Wren silently raised her hand in a manner that told Theodosia to quiet down. She hung her head knowing there was no stopping the truth from coming out now. Wren looked back to Nicu as she let go of Sanji's arm to step forward.

"And what is exactly happening?" Wren asked.

"The tension between the Church and our people is rising again." Nicu said. "And there have already been battles between us. We've lost many of our fighters already. Father and the council have already become so desperate that they decided there was only one way to insure the safety of our people."

Wren sighed not liking the sound of that. When people get this desperate, they make decisions their rational minds never would have thought of in a million years.

"And what does this have to do with your sisters?" Wren asked.

"The council decided to insure our safety and that we can remain on our homeland that we need the protection of someone much stronger than the church." Nicu said. "The World Government supports the Church, so—!"

"You had to look for the protection of pirates." Wren deduced.

Nicu nodded his head quickly as Usopp and Zoro exchanged a glance. This all sounded complicated. It seemed as if they didn't come during a peaceful time after all. And a lot of them weren't ready for another fight after the Alabasta incident.

"But if pirates enter the area, wouldn't the government just come here to take care of them?" Nami asked.

"Not if those pirates are so strong that not even the government would go looking for a fight with them." Wren said as she looked to the two siblings. "Tell me, which of the Yonko has Clopin-san asked for aid?"

Theodosia flinched while not surprised that Wren had deduced as much as she had just from what little her brother said.

"The Yonko?!" Wren's crew exclaimed.

They looked at the siblings as well while wondering if Wren's assumption was true. Did they really call for the aid of a Yonko?! Theodosia bit her lip before looking up to look Wren dead in the eye.

"My father made an arrangement with Big Mom." Theodosia said. "We give her the rich resources in this land, and in return she gives us protection."

"That's not all." Wren said. "Big Mom always asks for something from everyone group or island she's asked to protect, and that is for a marriage between one of her children and someone from the people she allying herself. That way the contract of protection is sealed by the joining of families."

"Really?!" Usopp asked. "This Big Mom forces people to marry into her family. How big is her family anyway?!"

"Just counting her children there are about over a hundred." Theodosia said honestly said. "And she has chosen one of her sons to bring here with her."

Mouths dropped open in shock, but Wren just kept her eyes on Theodosia who was looking down at the ground.

"Tell me, Theodosia, will it be you or Esmeralda who has to make the sacrifice?" Wren asked.

"…It has not been decided yet." Theodosia said. "It is up for _her_ to decide our fates."


	25. A Touch of Destiny

Coco: I apologize beforehand for all the typos. Also, I'd just like to say that I will be restarting my Raelin side story. I know I've only done like three chapters, but I already don't like where it is going, so I'm going to tweak it a bit. And probably redesign a few of my other characters.

Something else I would like to bring up is that I'm still doing the SBS corner. I would like to get some questions from all of you, so I can answer them XD I plan to have the SBS corner after my this filler arc I created, which will end in like the next chapter or the one after that. So please, send in those questions XD

One more thing since I can't remember if I brought it up, I'm not big on the anime fillers, so I'm not going to do a lot of them, but out of the three short fillers that happen between the Alabasta and Sky Island arcs, I've decided to do the Ruluka Island arc. That way there's a space for Theodosia to get more acquainted with the crew before their big adventure on Sky Island.

Okay, thank you for your time XD Now here's the chapter :D

* * *

It was silent for a moment as Wren slightly narrowed her eyes when Theodosia mentioned some woman.

"Her?" Nami asked. "Her who?"

She had no idea who this person was, but how Theodosia said the decision would be left to her and how Wren reacted, Nami guessed she was of some kind of importance.

"Madame Vadoma." Nicu said. "She is our fortune-teller."

Zoro snorted since he didn't believe in fortune-tellers, and he couldn't believe these people were going to leave it up to some psychic phony to decide the fate of two of their own.

"I know it may sound silly, Zoro-san." Wren said while not even turning back to look at the swordsman. "And there are many fakes out in the world. However, I can assure you that Madame Vadoma hasn't been wrong with her predictions thus far. If they are waiting for her to decide things must be serious."

Nicu nodded while hoping Wren had some way to help them, so he wouldn't have to lose one of his sisters.

"This is something I must think about." Wren said as she started walking. "You will give me every detail on the way to your camp, but once we are there we will pretend nothing was said. The celebration will go on because I do not want to bring anymore stress onto your people. Afterwards, I will discuss the situation with Clopin-san. Is that understood, Theodosia?"

"Yes, Wren-sama." Theodosia said as she bowed her head to Wren.

The monkey, who had returned to her master's shoulder, even mirrored Theodosia's head bow. Theodosia then followed after Wren with Nicu close by. As the others followed, Sanji was impressed with how easily Wren fell into the role of leader. She didn't hesitate. She spoke clearly, and gave no one the room for argument.

"Now who is the groom that has been chosen?" Wren asked as they walked.

Theodosia bit her lip while looking an all new kind of nervous, which had Wren dreading what Theodosia's will be. She sorely hoped it wasn't one of Big Mom's older sons. Most of them were outright cruel. Though a lot of them were already married off, so perhaps there was no worry for that. Though the younger ones weren't dolls either from what the rumors are.

"…Charlotte…Sorbet." Theodosia said.

Wren noticeably stiffened as she turned to look at Theodosia with a questioning look. As if she needed Theodosia to confirm what she had just said. Theodosia nodded her head, which had Wren frowning.

"What's wrong, Wren?" Luffy asked as he jogged up to Wren's side. "Is there something wrong with this guy?"

Sanji knew something had to be up with this guy if his name had Wren looking nervous. Wren was a calm and collected person, so to see her get slightly ruffled by the mention of someone had the crew on edge.

"Is he some kind of scary man?" Usopp whimpered feeling frightened.

Why did they have to come to an island that was already in so much trouble? Why couldn't they go to a nice island where nothing ever happened?

"Well, calling him a man would only be half correct." Wren said. "Let me tell you something that is common knowledge in the second half of the Grand Line, Big Mom isn't one to discriminate against the other races of this world. She has many children that are of a mixed race. Sorbet is no exception. In fact, his other half is of an ancient race that has faded into legend in many parts of the world."

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper gulped as they huddled together out of fear from what Wren was saying.

"So what is he?" Zoro asked. "Some kind of monster?"

Wren gave a humorless chuckle as she glanced at the swordsman whose brow was quirked.

"I suppose you could call him that." Wren said. "His other half certainly is that of a monster. You see, Charlotte Sorbet is half Drake."

While the guys seemed confused as did Nami, Robin actually stiffened while looking surprise.

"A Drake?" Robin asked stepping forward. "As in from the old legends of dragons?"

"Dragons?!" The crew exclaimed in shock.

They then looked to Wren for confirmation, and when she nodded her head, Usopp felt like fainting.

"Drakes are the highest order of dragons." Wren said. "The ones with so much power they can take on the forms of humans."

Mouths fell agape in shock when those words left Wren's mouth. It was hard to believe such creatures existed.

"B-but if dragons were even real to begin with, they went extinct a long time ago, right?" Nami asked as she stepped up.

"Some breeds have died out, but dragons are still alive in this world." Wren said. "Some have detached themselves from the lives of humans while others like the Drakes live amongst humans unknown. Though most of the dragons left in the world live on Avalon Island, which is the homeland of Raelin."

Wren also heard read of a breed of dragon known as the Millennia Dragons that migrate to different places, but always return to a place known as Lost Island, which supposedly lies within the East Blue. She wasn't sure how true that was. She had just read that information in a book about dragons that she found in the vast library that Raelin's country's king has in his castle.

"Raelin grew up with dragons?" Luffy asked with his eyes sparkling. "I wanna go to Avalon Island! Nami, take us there!"

"As if!" Nami shouted.

As the two argued over going to Avalon Island, the others kept their attention on Wren.

"So this guy has the power of a dragon without eating a devil fruit." Zoro stated.

"That's correct." Wren said. "Just imagine if he decided to consume a devil fruit. Of course, he has enough power as it is without one. Even if I went all out, he would squash me without even having to use half of his power."

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper squealed in fright while huddling together once more as Sanji and Zoro looked slightly surprised since they know Wren is strong even if they haven't seen her use her full strength yet.

"This is why things must be handled delicately." Wren said. "I don't have the power to take on a Yonko's subordinate let alone an actual Yonko, so we can't risk angering Big Mom. This crew is far from handling the wrath of a Yonko. I won't put everyone on this island or on this crew at risk."

Nicu and that monkey on Theodosia's shoulder bother slumped seeming upset by Wren's declaration.

"Are you saying there's nothing you can do?" Nicu asked looking completely devastated.

Wren reached out to give the young lad's shoulder a consoling squeeze, which already seemed like answer enough.

"I will not say that until I know all the details and have spoken to your father and the council." Wren said. "However, I will not lie to you, Nicu-san. Things are very bleak at this moment. You should make peace with the thought of one of your sisters having to marry Charlotte Sorbet, and moving away to the New World."

Nicu hung his head not believing any of this as Wren walked away with the others following. Theodosia looked at her brother knowing this all had to be hard on him, but they had to think of their people's welfare first. It is one of the burdens of being the children of the leader of their people. One day he will lead their people, and she prays he never has to face the same hard decisions that their father has had to make. As Nicu slowly started following after the group, Sanji moved alongside Wren to walk with her.

"Is there really nothing you can do?" He asked.

"I will do whatever is necessary to ensure the gypsy people are not annihilated." Wren said. "Unfortunately, allowing the marriage ceremony to be completed is actually the best option they have now. At least until I am strong enough to do anything else for them."

Sanji frowned slightly wondering why Wren always seemed to be the one who had to do the heavy work. It seemed she always put herself in danger first, or something else along those lines.

"It might take me some time, but if I cannot help them now, I will not leave them to the hands of Big Mom." Wren said in a hushed tone, so the others wouldn't hear. "She treats her blood family with love and adoration, but anyone who isn't tied to her by blood is expendable in her eyes. Even her in-laws. While Theodosia's people could be safe for some time, sooner or later Big Mom won't need them anymore, so whether they live or die won't be her concern. In fact, it wouldn't hurt her feelings one bit to order their execution if they so much as put a toe out of line."

Sanji's eyes widened not believing his ears. This Big Mom woman would really do that? To her own family?

"This is another reason why things must be taken care of delicately." Wren continued quietly. "What happens today will most likely lead to Esmeralda or Theodosia being married to Sorbet, and the gypsies obtaining Big Mom's protection. However, after the marriage, the clock will start ticking on how long they can remain one big happy family."

* * *

Wren sat amongst the celebration as music played, dancing was done, and people were feasting and laughing. Despite knowing all that is happening, she felt a small smile on her face as the gypsy people continued to celebrate her return. Though she didn't see it as much as a reason to celebrate. But she let them have their fun. Even her crewmates were enjoying themselves amongst the gypsies. Luffy was stuffing his face as usual, and even through Wren had tried to reprimand him earlier, he continued eating with poor manners. It was the dinner at the Alabasta Palace all over again.

Zoro was drinking all the booze he could get his hands on with more being brought to him. Usopp was entertaining a group with tales of his many grand adventures, and while Wren was certain the others could tell they were mostly lies, they all still laugh and applauded the young sniper. Nami was sitting with a group of gypsy women talking about their clothes, and how she could get some. It was nice seeing Nami acting like a typical teenage girl interested in fashion and interacting with girls her own age. Robin was actually sitting with one of the elders, and Wren believed they were talking about some of the history of the gypsy people.

Chopper was dancing with Samba around the fire with both having large grins on their faces. Then Sanji was dancing and unsurprisingly flirting with Esmeralda. Wren wouldn't admit it allowed, but she felt unhappy about how head-over-heels Sanji was acting around Esmeralda. Of course, he was like this often with women, but is seemed as if she didn't like it when his flirting went to women not within the crew, or closely attached to the crew like Vivi had been. She just brushed it off with her fellow female crewmates, but seeming him gushing over Esmeralda who was a very beautiful and mature woman had Wren bothered. Even she couldn't explain why.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Princess?" Clopin asked as he sat down beside her.

Wren gave the gypsy leader a polite smile while setting aside her wine glass to the table beside her as she put her discomfort at Sanji's antics at the back of her mind.

"Yes," Wren said smiling. "I always do enjoy the parties you throw, Clopin-san."

Clopin smiled glad to hear that. He then looked back towards the fire as the song changed up with Theodosia and Esmeralda going to the front of the fire in front of the crowd. The two were next to each other completely still before the music jumped in tempo, which got everyone's attention. The two sisters then started dancing with each other around the fire as some started to clap to the beat. As the two gave the crowd a grand show, Clopin smiled at his daughters though there was a sad nostalgic look in his gaze.

"It is sad knowing that after today that I won't be seeing either of my daughters for a long time." Clopin said.

Wren glanced at him as Clopin looked at her with the eyes of a tired old man.

"I already know Nicu told you about mine and the council's decision of gaining the Yonko Big Mom's protection in exchange for our land's riches and one of my daughter's hands in marriage." Clopin said. "The young lad confessed to me before the feast began. I cannot say I am angry with Nicu since I can understand his feelings."

Wren tilted her head in acknowledgement to Clopin's words as the man let out a sigh.

"You said both of your daughters, Clopin-san." Wren pointed out. "I thought Madame Vadoma was only choosing one to become a bride to one of the sons of the Charlotte family."

"She is, but I already know who will marry Charlotte Sorbet." Clopin said as he looked to Esmeralda.

Wren looked towards the eldest of Clopin's daughters as she and Theodosia joined hands to dance together, which brought out cheering from the crowd.

"And what makes you so certain?" Wren asked curiously.

"Because Theodosia's destiny was told to me a long time ago by the fortune-teller who proceeded Madame Vadoma." Clopin said. "Madame Kuri told me on the night of Theodosia's birth that her destiny was intertwined with that of a dark princess on the path of vengeance and a man who is on a journey to conquer the sea."

Wren's brow quirked while certain Clopin was speaking of her and Luffy. It felt quite obviously actually.

"And there is one more Madame Kuri mentioned that would play the largest role of all in Theodosia's destiny." Clopin said. "A swordsman who will become her other half and keep her safe through her journey of accomplishing her dream."

"Madame Kuri was very specific when she spoke of Theodosia future, wasn't she?" Wren asked while casting a quick glance at a certain swordsman.

Clopin lightly chuckled as he continued to sit next to Wren at the edge of the festivities.

"I suppose so." Clopin said. "Madame Kuri said my youngest daughter was greatly touched by fate, and there were big plans for her in the future."

Wren hummed in acknowledgement to his words as the song finished with the two sisters' bowing.

"I haven't told anyone else of my thoughts." Clopin said as he looked to Wren. "But I am telling you, Princess, because I have one other favor to ask of you even though you have already done so much for us."

Wren looked to Clopin wondering what his favor could be. She was no fortune-teller, but she had a feeling that whatever he had to ask would upset more than one person.

"Once Madame Vadoma makes her judgement, there will be little time before Charlotte Sorbet arrives here for his bride." Clopin said. "I do not know if Big Mom will arrive with him at first, or if she will come later on, but there is something you can do that will at least ensure one of my daughters will not be oppressed like the rest of my people once my family and the Charlotte Family are tied."

"I'm listening." Wren said.

* * *

After the celebration died down, everything about the alliance with Big Mom was brought officially into light. There were some who protested the idea while others accepted the wisdom of their council. There were also some who looked to Wren to help, but she had told all of them exactly what she had told Nicu. While they were disappointed, none were upset with Wren. She has already done so much for them after all.

Now it was time for Madame Vadoma to make the bride selection though Wren didn't feel so on edge considering what Clopin told her in confidence. Most other people, however, were fairly on edge with nerves to hear what Madame Vadoma had to say except for Luffy who was still stuffing his face over by the food table. Wren wasn't even sure if he knew exactly what was going on here.

"So they'll really go along with whatever this woman says?" Zoro asked as they waited for Madame Vadoma to leave her tent to make it down to where everyone waited. "Even if she could be wrong?"

Zoro didn't put much stock into fortune-telling or anything similar, so he didn't understand why these people let this one woman decide their fate. She could be just really could at guessing, or see signs that lead her to a conclusion that becomes the truth every so often.

"Yes." Wren asked. "You might not believe in fortune-telling, Zoro-san, but these people do. And their fortune-tellers have never been wrong before. If Madame Vadoma seems intimate marriage or great sacrifice in either girl's fortunes that girl will be the one to marry Charlotte Sorbet."

Zoro frowned because he wouldn't let anyone tell him what his fates going to be. He'll decide his future and no one else.

"If this Madame Vadoma is so spot on most of time, I might ask her to read my fortune." Nami said then made a giggling noise. "I hope it's full of riches."

Wren chuckled though wasn't too surprised that Nami would say something like that.

"Well, I want mine full of adventure." Usopp said grinning. "I wonder if she'll be able to tell me how brave of a warrior of the sea I'll become."

He grinned already thinking about how many awesome adventures he'll have that Vadoma might be able to tell him about.

"Oh, I want might fortune read too!" Chopper said excited as he waved his arms.

Zoro rolled his eyes not believing they brought into all of this fortune-telling crap. Robin just chuckled in amusement at their words though made no real comment to the situation. She was content just sitting back and watching the festivities.

"I wonder if this Madame Vadoma could tell me my future." Sanji said while getting that love struck look on his face again. "I wonder what kind of cutie is destined for me~ Nami-swan? Robin-chwan? Wren-chwan?"

He looked each woman over with his eyes landing lastly but not at the least on Wren. Sanji could just picture him and Wren together and married with cute little daughters who look exactly like Wren at their sides.

"Perhaps you can ask Madame Vadoma your future after this, Sanji-san, Everyone." Wren said. "Though I highly doubt I will be in it."

Sanji snapped out of his thoughts to look at Wren as she waited calmly in her seat for Madame Vadoma to arrive. He was about to ask her what she meant by her not being in his future, but suddenly the tent's flaps were pushed aside with who the pirates assumed was Madame Vadoma. She was a young woman looking to be about Wren's age if not slightly older. She had dark hair as most of the gypsies did with pale silvery eyes that seemed to look right through whatever they landed on. She wore bright clothing with a long red scarf draped around her like a mantel. As she took a few steps out of her tent, the scar slightly dragged across the ground.

"I will now peer into the futures of Esmeralda and Theodosia to see which of our two sisters will make the great sacrifice for our people." Vadoma said as she held up a set of tarot cards. "I will look to the cards of the tarot for guidance. Now I ask both Esmeralda and Theodosia to step forward, and no one else disturbs the reading."

Theodosia, who had been sitting at Wren's side, stood up without hesitation with a resignation on her face. As she moved forward with Esmeralda, who stepped away from Nicu and Clopin, right behind her, Samba moved onto Wren's shoulder with Wren patting the monkey's head. Both sisters stopped in front of Vadoma. Her assistant opened up the flap to the tent with the woman motioning Theodosia and Esmeralda inside the tent. They stepped in with Vadoma going after them. The assistant allowed the flaps to close while remaining outside as if to guard the tent.

"You mean, we can't see the reading?" Nami asked while lightly frowning.

She had wanted to see the reading to understand it, and to see how it is done. Now she couldn't do that.

"Tarot card reading must be done in a calm environment with little distractions that might influence the reading." Wren explained. "If everyone was around with their own energy and thoughts buzzing, it might affect how the reading comes out, which means it would come out wrong."

Zoro scoffed still not believing any of this, but he kept his mouth shut for the most part. If these people wanted to believe in such things, he'd let them.

"So now we have to wait?" Chopper asked as he blinked curiously.

"Yes." Wren said. "I only hope the reading is over before Big Mom's pirates arrive. Clopin-san informed me they were already on their way here a week ago, so they could arrive at any moment. I do not like the thought of being here when Sorbet-san arrives."

Wren has never met the man personally, and she never wished to. She's heard much about the young man. He wasn't malicious like some of his siblings, but he has been known to cause devastation on more than one occasion. He wiped out an entire kingdom on his own just because his mother happened to be upset with the kingdom for not having the sweets she wanted ready on time. There had been nothing left of the kingdom it had been burned to the ground or turned into rubble.

He was a dragon in human skin quite literally. Who knew exactly what kind of power he had at the tips of his fingers? A lot of things didn't make Wren nervous, but Big Mom and her children were some of those things. Wren never felt nervous about the marines not even all the way up to Sengoku. She never felt as if she needed to fear the World Government up to the Elders or the Tenryuubito. She didn't even fear the Shichibukai. Doflamingo not counting. She wasn't really afraid of him, but she knew what he was capable of, and knew to move cautiously when dealing with him.

She was never nervous around Whitebeard and his men, and if she had ever run into Red Haired Shanks, she probably would have invited herself onto his ship as well. But Big Mom and Kaido did make her slightly nervous. Kaido and Big Mom could kill Doflamingo on their own without having to use much of their power, and their subordinates were like the level of Shichibukai or stronger. In Sorbet's case, Wren was certain the man was much stronger than most of the Shichibukai.

Which is why she hopes to leave soon. The log pose sets quickly on this island, so they should be able to leave in another hour. However, the reading still needed to be done, and she had to go through with Clopin's plan because she gave the man her word. She never goes back on her word. But she didn't know how much time they hated. She doesn't like having so little time to work out a plan, but it wouldn't be the first time, so she will not disappoint. She will work something out no matter what. First she had to get her captain on board with her plan. Wren turned towards Luffy as the captain was still eating.

"Luffy-sama," Wren called out to him to get his attention. "How do you feel about causing a bit of trouble?"


	26. The Dragon King Takes Flight

"Clopin asked you to rampage in the city?!" Nami hissed as the crew sat away from the rest who were waiting for the reading to be finished.

Wren had pulled the others away from the group to tell them Clopin's plan since she mostly didn't want to be overheard by the gypsies who would most definitely protest this.

"Yes, he did." Wren said. "And he wants Theodosia involved. It will be seen as an act of betrayal for going against the leader's orders, and he will expel her from the gypsies."

Nami couldn't believe what she was hearing. Clopin would actually do that to his own daughter?

"It's the only way to ensure that Theodosia isn't tied to the Charlotte family." Wren said. "Clopin might not be able to save his people or all of his children, but he can make sure Theodosia goes free."

Well, Nami could understand that, but it all seemed too cruel in her opinion. It should be Theodosia's choice what happens. If she wants to be with her family then it's her decision.

"But once Clopin expels her then where will she go?" Usopp asked.

"She can join the crew." Luffy said with a big grin on his face before Wren could even answer. "Her and the funny monkey. Shishishi."

Wren smiled while glad Luffy seemed onboard with the plan, and she was sure Theodosia would make a fine addition to the crew.

"What of the reading though?" Robin asked. "What if she is chosen to marry Charlotte Sorbet?"

Wren didn't even give the woman a glance though decided to be civil by answering her.

"She won't be." Wren said. "Clopin-san informed me it was never in Theodosia's destiny to marry Charlotte Sorbet. If he says that then I believe him."

Zoro still didn't put much stock in this fortunetelling stuff, but if he was getting to fight, he was all for it. He grinned wondering what these self-righteous religious people could do. Were any of them warriors? They had to be if they've fought against the gypsies before, right?

"If we do this, what kind of trouble are we looking at?" Usopp asked.

"Well, this place is a sacred place where people from all around the world come to worship." Wren said. "It is also the island where most of the government come to have the funerals for their dead. If we happen to cause some trouble, let's just say the marines will dislike us more than they already do."

Usopp whimpered because he was afraid that Wren would say something like that. Why couldn't they just go to an island and not get into trouble?

"If you all do not want get involved, you don't have to, but I will keep my word to Clopin." Wren said. "Not only for his sake, but for Theodosia's sake as well. I will not let her freedom be taken from her again."

As the others wondered what Wren meant by that, Wren looked forward remembering the day she had met Theodosia five years ago when Wren was fourteen and Theodosia was twelve.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren stood out on the deck of one of Doflamingo's ships as a storm roared around them and made the sea churn. She knew it wasn't safe for a Devil Fruit user to be outside in such conditions since she could be thrown overboard. However, her attention was on the sinking ship that had been struck by lightning and was burning and sinking all at once. She knew it was a Tenryuubito's ship since Doflamingo had been ordered by the marines to watch the ship since they were certain knowing a Shichibukai was watching over the ship would keep people from attacking it._

 _However, Doflamingo, who had been in a generous enough mood to lend help, himself wasn't here. He put Wren in charge of watching the ship, and while it wasn't attacked by pirates or rouges, Mother Nature dealt her own blow. Wren couldn't fight Mother Nature, and it seemed as if the marines were doing fine in rescuing the nobles, so she didn't see any point in interfering._

 _"All Tenryuubito are on board, sir!" A marine informed the Vice-Admiral in charge of the Tenryuubito's safety for this trip. "However, there are still slaves on board. What are your orders?"_

 _Wren's ears perked when hearing that there were people still on the ship. Did the Tenryuubito leave behind their **playthings**? _

_"Leave the slaves." The Vice-Admiral said. "They are not the ones we were assigned to protect."_

 _Some of the marines couldn't belief the words coming out of their commanding officers mouth, but none moved to defy him. Wren gave a humorlessly smirk while not surprised. Marines aren't as saintly as some people think._

 _"Lily!" Wren called over the harsh winds._

 _Lily came to her side while slightly bending at the waist to be closer to Wren's lips, so he could hear her better._

 _"It might be a lot to ask, but I want every living being off that sinking ship." Wren said. "Whether they be a slave or not."_

 _Lily grinned at Wren before nodding his head. He ran over to the edge of the ship, and jumped in the churning sea water without hesitation. He disappeared under the angry waves as Wren waited on deck._

 _"Wren-sama, perhaps you should head inside!" One of her crewmen suggested. "It will be safer for you in there!"_

 _"I will not move from this spot until Lily has returned." Wren said. "I might not be able to risk my life in the water with him, but I will not leave him out in these conditions alone."_

— _Break—_

 _Wren looked down at the young girl cradled in Lily's arms after the half-fishman returned from the ship. Apparently this girl was the only slave that had been left behind on the ship. The girl looked weakened, which wasn't surprising. However, Wren had feeling it was the sea water itself that weakened than all the excitement that tired her. Wren only guessed this based off the sea prism stone wrapped around her wrists. She was a devil fruit user._

 _"Good work, Lily." Wren said. "Let's take her inside to warm her and you both."_

 _Wren turned to head inside out of the rain, but the girl, who was most likely only a year or so younger than her, reached out grip Wren's sleeve. Wren turned back to the girl as she looked at Wren with large golden eyes._

 _"Home…I want to go home." She cried as Lily continued to hold her gently._

 _Wren lost some of her indifferent expression as she turned back to the girl. Wren gave the girl a soft look while reaching out to pat her on top her head._

 _"Don't worry." Wren said. "I'll make sure you get home. From today onward you are free."_

 _Wren's words brought tears to the girl's eyes, and she let out a cry while covering her face._

 _"There, there." Wren said as she continued to pat the girl's head. "It's alright. What's your name?"_

 _The girl hiccupped while looking towards Wren who was giving her a kind smile._

 _"Theo…Theodosia." She replied._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Wren wouldn't allow any kind of chains to bind Theodosia again. That girl would not be held down by anyone ever again. Sanji was about to ask Wren more when the flaps to the ten were pushed aside to reveal Vadoma.

"The bride," She began as she reached back as if to grab something. "Has been chosen!"

She gently pulled Esmeralda forward while holding the girl's arm up. The gypsy all moved forward to speak with the chosen bride as Theodosia slipped off to the side to no interfere. She had a troubled look on her face as she walked towards Wren and the others. Wren stood up to meet Theodosia, and the others were surprised when Wren so readily took Theodosia into her arms to give her comfort. They weren't used to Wren being so affectionate, but it seemed as if the woman was very capable of it when needed. Theodosia hugged Wren just as tightly while taking comfort in the older woman's embrace.

"Even if it takes years, I will not let your people continue to be chained." Wren whispered to Theodosia.

"Wren-sama." Theodosia whimpered. "I do not know what to do."

Wren pulled back to look Theodosia in the eye as the girl looked towards her for council.

"Your father and I have already discussed plans." Wren said. "However, even though I have him my word to do as he asked, I leave the decision to you, Theodosia. I will not force you into anything. You will be the one who decides the path you will take."

Theodosia blinked wondering what Wren could possibly mean by that. What did Wren and her father conspire together? Wren told Theodosia what Clopin's plan was, and while Theodosia was shocked her father would come up with such a plan, she remained silent until everything was explained.

"So he wants me to leave with all of you?" Theodosia asked as she looked at the Straw Hats. "Officially become a pirate?"

"He wants you to be free." Wren said as she placed her hands on Theodosia's shoulders. "That also means free to make your own decisions. To follow your own dreams. So what is it that _you_ want, Theodosia?"

Theodosia stared at Wren for a moment then looked to Samba as her monkey friend moved to Theodosia's shoulder. The monkey's eyes seemed to tell her something she needed to know because she looked back towards Wren with her expression set in determination.

"I will not be held ever again by chains." Theodosia said. "I chose freedom, but someday I will free my people, so they can feel the exact freedom you gave me on the day of our meeting, Wren-sama. This is what I choose."

* * *

Theodosia kept her head down as she walked through the streets of Notre Dame with Roronoa Zoro following behind her. After Theodosia decided her path, Wren had come up with a plan of attack so to speak. She sent Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper back to the ship to get it prepared to sail even Samba went with them. Sanji was going to come with them, but Nami insisted they needed a fighter there in case anything bad happened. Wren relented while allowing them to have Sanji as their protector. The rest of the crew and Theodosia then entered the city with the groups splitting up again.

Wren took Luffy to start the ruckus around Aldric's estate to get the townspeople's attention. Once hearing all the commotion, Aldric will surely come out to see what the fuss is about. Robin then would take down his guards from the shadows with the use of her Devil Fruit abilities, which will allow Theodosia to reach Aldric with Zoro's help. Theodosia would then declare very publically how she's there to overthrow the church for her people's sake, so they may live free.

This of course could start a war, but Wren was certain some of Big Mom's pirates would be here soon enough. Their presence will halt everything, and while negotiations are being made with Clopin, he will make sure to exile Theodosia publically and in front of Sorbet, so he knows Theodosia is no longer family with the gypsies. The engagement between Sorbet and Esmeralda will then become official, and Sorbet will place Big Mom's mark on the island as a sign this island was protected by Big Mom. But more importantly that the gypsies were protected by the fearsome Yonko. That was the plan anyway, and Theodosia never doubts Wren's plans because they have never failed before.

"Is this the church where we're supposed to stop and wait?" Zoro's voice broke through Theodosia's thoughts.

Theodosia nearly jumped because she had actually forgotten his presence while thinking, but was now hyper-sensitive to it. Theodosia glanced back at the swordsman under her hood as he was looking up at the church. Vadoma told her this man would become closely intertwined with her destiny that he would complete her. So while it was Esmeralda's destiny to marry Sorbet…the gypsy fortuneteller told Theodosia that her destiny lied with this man.

He certainly was a handsome man now that Theodosia was really looking at him. She blushed at her thoughts while turning away quickly. She couldn't be thinking such things now! They had important business to take care of! Theodosia blames Vadoma for her scattered thoughts because it was the older woman who told her this man would become her lover. She was standing right in front of the man who would become the most important person to her in the world. How is she supposed to handle that? As she was thinking about all this, Zoro looked back at her with his brow quirked.

"You okay under that hood?" He asked as reaching towards the hood to tug it back slightly to check on her.

However, Theodosia just pulled it farther over her blushing face as she dipped away from Zoro's hand.

"Ye-yes." Theodosia said while turning towards the church. "And this is where Wren-sama asked us to wait. I'm sure we should be hearing her and Luffy causing trouble soon enough."

Zoro, who had been wondering why she ducked away from him, snorted lightly.

"With Luffy involved I'm sure we'll be hurrying something in a second or two." Zoro said.

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a large crashing noise not far from them.

"Shishishi! You can't beat me!" They heard Luffy shout not far from them.

There was more loud noises followed by a wailing that cut a deep gash in a building not far from them. They couldn't see who caused it because of the large building in the center of the plaza, but it was obviously Wren who caused the damage.

"Heh, looks like I was right." Zoro said grinning as he pushed his Wado Ichimonji slightly from its sheath with his thumb. "I didn't think I'd be able to get into any fights while on this island, but this should be fun."

He heard the fluttering of a cloak beside him, so the turned to see Theodosia shed her cloak. She brought out her hook swords while twirling them expertly in her hands.

"You know, hook swords aren't very common weapons." Zoro commented though was a bit intrigued.

"No, they're not." Theodosia said. "However, Wren-sama gifted these to me while saying they should fit my fighting style. She then taught me two-sword style."

Zoro's brow quirked when Theodosia said that as they continued to hear Wren and Luffy cause an uproar.

"Two sword style?" Zoro asked. "I didn't know Wren used two sword style."

"She did a long time ago, but her sword Banshī doesn't play well with others." Theodosia said as she looked up at Zoro. "Every time she tried to fight with two swords Banshī would shatter the other with its wails. So she gave up two sword style. She told me once she started with one sword anyway, so it didn't matter to her either way. As long as she can fight her enemies, Wren-sama wouldn't care to fight without any weapons at all."

Zoro hummed while wondering how Wren fought without her sword. Did she rely on her devil fruit abilities?

"Though saying that, Wren-sama does take care of her sword." Theodosia said. "She sees Banshī as a partner in battle, and that they have the same soul. When she fights with her sword for real, you can see the strong bond there is between master and sword. This is what makes her an excellent swordswoman. I am honored to have been her student."

This brought a thoughtful look to Zoro's face. He has seen Wren's swordsmanship. Well, not that much of it since she hasn't had to fight seriously ever since he met her. A few slashes here and there, and usually her fights were over. He wanted to test her skill.

"You're not much younger than us." Zoro said to Theodosia. "Was Wren really that much of a skilled swordswoman at a young age that she was able to teach you?"

"She wasn't a master swordswoman back then like she is now, but Wren-sama was naturally gifted with swordsmanship." Theodosia said. "Most days it was more like training between two friends than a master teaching her student. However, I learned much from those hours of training, and even when I couldn't keep moving, Wren-sama continued. Sometimes it was hard to believe she was even human with how many hours she put into making herself stronger and sharper than those around her. Wren-sama taught me when you want something more than anything in the world then you work for it even when your body wants to rest even when those around you ask you to stop. And I want to be free. I want to live a life of freedom that others might try to deny me, so today I will do what I must even if on the inside I am feeling torn up."

Theodosia started walking forward as more people started to appear in the plaza while looking for a fight as citizens fled in fear. Zoro watched her go as she continued to twirl her swords in her hands.

"To live in this world you must be of strong body, strong mind, and most of all your soul must not waver." Theodosia said as she walked towards the men who were trying to hurry to Wren and Luffy's location to stop them while trying to clear out her own wavering thoughts. "If there is something in your path you remove it with force. If your mind is troubled, you sharpen it and decide what most important is. If your soul howls because it is being split, you discipline yourself to silence it."

Theodosia then suddenly dashed forward while heading right into the fray of those guards. She took a few down in the blink of an eye, which gained the attention of those men.

"It's Theodosia!" One of the men shouted. "That wretch Clopin's daughter. Have the gypsies decided they would rather have war?"

He then cried out when Theodosia cut him down then placed her foot on his back. One man tried to attack her from behind, but Zoro interfered by cutting him down.

"You have skill." Zoro said smirking at Theodosia.

Theodosia blushed at his words while looking away from Zoro, so he wouldn't see it.

"Of course, she has skill." Wren said as she and Luffy joined them. "She is one of my officers."

Theodosia smiled happy about the praise that Wren was giving her. She was always pleased when Wren was proud of her skills.

"Now that we have everyone's attention it is time we get Aldric down here." Wren said. "Or we could go in to him."

"Let's go in!" Luffy said laughing. "In!"

Wren shrugged her shoulders since she didn't mind either way. She then sheathed her sword while taking a strong stance.

"Banshī's Song!" She said then unsheathed her sword while slashing forward.

A whirlwind of wails entered the air with them being different in pitch and length, which made it sound as if a banshee itself was singing its sorrow. The attacking men cried out trying to block out the noise while covering their ears as much as possible. However, it didn't protect them from the banshee's wrath as gashes appeared over their bodies. As they dropped like flies, Zoro sheathed his sword. Her flying slash attacks were something he's never seen before. How much training did she have to do to reach such a level?

"I believe it is safe to go in now." Wren said.

However, it didn't appear they needed to because the large doors to the building in front of them opened to reveal a man wearing all black stepping out. He had white hair that was slicked back with sharp golden eyes that resembled Theodosia's so much that Zoro couldn't miss the resemblance by a mile.

"You are cause disruption in my city, gypsy scum?" The man asked narrowing his eyes at Theodosia. "You should know your place, lesser human!"

Theodosia grit her teeth when the man said that as she clenched the hilts of her sword tightly. Wren narrowed her eyes at the man though didn't move since he was to be Theodosia's opponent.

"Lesser human?" Luffy asked then looked towards Wren. "What does that mean?"

"It's nothing of importance, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "It is a just a noble looking down on those of lower class. Aldric has always had a nasty personality."

She knew that was a slight lie, but it wasn't her place to reveal Theodosia's past as a slave.

"Saturn Wren, I see you have returned." Aldric said as he narrowed his eyes at him. "You always seem to cause trouble for me and the people of my city. You always rally those gypsy scum against me, and you have done it once more. I will not overlook your involvement this time. I shall put an end to you and your friends before you can cause more disaster to this city."

He snapped his fingers with the cities warriors letting out battle cries as they started rushing the three Straw Hats and Theodosia.

"Luffy-sama, Zoro-san, let's thin out their ranks." Wren said.

Luffy laughed while cracking his knuckles as Zoro drew his swords with a dark smirk on his face.

"Sounds like fun." Zoro said then placed his Wado Ichimonji in between his teeth. "Let's do this."

* * *

On the open ocean, a large ship sailed closer to Romani Island with those locked in battle unknowing of the soon to be arrival. Standing on the figurehead of the ship was a young man with salmon pink hair. It had an undercut style with the hair on top slicked backwards. He was tall and muscular with a tanned figure. He wore a white tank top under a cropped red leather jacket that looked as if it was made from dragon scales. He then had on black cargo pants that were tucked into black combat boots.

"Sorbet-sama!"

The young man, Sorbet, turned his head as a small plump man who continued to bob his head hurried towards him.

"Romani Island is coming into view." The man said. "And our watch says there seems to be a battle commencing on the island."

Sorbet's brow quirked before he looked back towards the island. A battle? Did those religious nutjobs attack the gypsy people? He knew they weren't members of his family yet, but since they will be, he will take care of the disturbance once he reaches the island.

"If that is so, I will give those people a taste of the Charlotte wrath." Sorbet said as he narrowed his eyes. "Those gypsies will be members of the family soon, and no one messes with the Charlotte family."

"Yes, of course, sir." His subordinate said as he bobbed his head. "Do you wish for me to burn the city to the ground? Turn it to ruins?"

It would bring him pleasure to do so for his captain's son, and he did like to set things on fire.

"There's no need for that, Bobbin." Sorbet said. "If I want this place to burn, I will turn it into ashes myself. For now I will give them a slight warning of what will come if they make a mistake of causing this trouble again."

"Yes, of course." Bobbin said while bowing to Sorbet. "Do you wish for us to remain here while you handle your business, Sorbet-sama?"

His reply was Sorbet's body starting to transform into that of a large red dragon. Sorbet kicked off the ship making it bob in the water as wings sprouted from his back. He finished transforming into the large form of his dragon self with his body being longer than the galleon he sailed here on with his wing span being twice as long if not more. He let out a roar while soaring towards the city with Bobbin grinning an evil grin.

"He may not turn it to ash, but the City of Notre Dame will burn tonight." Bobbin said. "Because no town and no people are safe once the Dragon King takes flight."

* * *

Coco: Dun! Dun! Dun! So much suspense, am I right?~ Anyway, just wanted to remind you that I'll be doing the SBS corner after this arc...that is if I get any questions. So send some in, okay? Even if its via private message XD


	27. Wren's True Dream

Wren cut down another man though paused when a dark presence washed over her. Theodosia stopped as well with both women's eyes widening. A man came behind Wren about to attack her, but Luffy took care of him.

"Hey, Wren, what's wrong?" Luffy asked.

It wasn't like the woman to let someone get behind her close enough to attack her like that.

"The Dragon King is near." Wren said then turned to face Luffy and Zoro. "We have less time than before. We have to clear a path now."

Luffy and Zoro frowned wondering what Wren's haki had warned her about this time.

"Are you saying that dragon guy is almost here?" Zoro asked.

Wren nodded her head then turned towards all the men that were standing in their way.

"We need to make a path for Theodosia now." Wren said. "If we don't wrap things up as he's arriving, one of us will be hurt if not killed. Luffy-sama, help me."

Luffy and Zoro stared at Wren in surprise while never seeing her so serious or nervous. They then turned to face the men as well.

"Alright then." Luffy said getting serious while stretching his arms backwards as Zoro stepped back. "Gumo-Gumo,"

"Ittoryu*," Wren began as well.

"Bazooka!/100 Wails!" The three said in unison.

Their attacks flew out while completely cutting down or sending down all the men that had been in their paths. Aldric's mouth fell open in shock while realizing the three had been holding back earlier. He then gasped when seeing Theodosia heading right towards him.

"Guards, stop her!" He ordered his loyal guards.

They all drew their weapons while ready to attack, but suddenly arms sprouted from their shoulders to grasp their necks to snap. It looks as if Robin pulled off her part of the mission. Theodosia had a straight shot towards Aldric who tried to flee. She caught up to him with ease, and blocked his path. She kicked him in the got to send him falling down the few steps into the street.

"Is this what you gypsies have planned?" Aldric asked her as she started to walk down towards him. "Do you think getting rid of me will solve everything? The government will come after your head, Theodosia! And the rest of your family's heads!"

Aldric then squealed in fright when Theodosia moved the tip of her hook sword to his jugular. If she sunk her weapon into his neck than jerked forward, she'd rip this throat wide open meaning he'd be dead in seconds with no chance of being saved.

"The rest of the gypsies have no part in this." Theodosia said. "However, I refuse to live under your rule anymore. Even if I have to fight with the marines and the government for the rest of my life, I am end your life here, _Uncle_."

She hissed out this last word with Zoro and Luffy stiffening in shock when they heard that.

"That guy is her uncle?!" Luffy asked.

"Yes," Wren said. "Her mother Willa-san was a woman of the church and Aldric's younger sister. However, she and Clopin-san fell in love despite coming from two different worlds. She left her own family to start one with him, which is something Aldric has hated Clopin-san for for many years."

This rift between the church and the gypsies just keeps getting more and more complicated in Zoro's book.

"Aldric hates Clopin-san's children as well, and has made it hard for them at every turn." Wren said. "He was the cruelest to Theodosia because she resembles her late mother the most."

At least that's all Wren has been told about the issue. Willa had died long before Wren had the chance to meet the woman.

"That woman is right." Aldric said then looked directly at Theodosia. "Is this more about revenge, Theodosia? Do you wish to have my head for what I did to you eight years ago?"

"It's true that because of you that I suffered three years at the hands of the Tenryuubito." Theodosia said. "If it wasn't for Wren-sama, I would have died because no one else thought their lives were worth risking to save me from drowning. I would never have made it home if it wasn't for her. It's thanks to her that I stand here before you now to rid this world of your evil stain!"

She went to rip out this throat completely forgetting about the plan. Wren could see Theodosia was out for blood, but made no move to stop her.

"Stop, Theodosia!" Another voice cried out.

Theodosia paused in what she was doing to look up and see her father running towards her.

"That is enough." He said firmly.

* * *

With the second group at the Going Merry the crew was awaiting the others return. The ship was waiting to go, but still needed the captain and the others to arrive first.

"I hope the others arrive soon." Chopper said as he sat on the railing of the Going Merry. "My animal instincts tell me something bad is coming."

Samba chittered in agreement as she was sitting on top of Chopper's hat with her tail swishing side-to-side. Sanji frowned because he had gut instinct something was going to go bad as well.

"I'm sure things are fine." Nami said. "Luffy and Zoro are probably wasting time as always. You know them."

"If those two morons mess up Wren-chwan's plan, I'll kick their asses!" Sanji snapped as he practically burned in anger.

Usopp sweat-dropped at his reaction as Samba ran to hide from Sanji's rage in Usopp's arms. Usopp was surprised at first when his arms were suddenly full with monkey, but he smiled while patting Samba on top her head. The monkey was actually kinda cute.

"Sanji, calm down before you blow a fuse." Nami said.

Normally a word from one of the ladies on the ship would be an instant flip in Sanji's mood, but Sanji remained pensive while staring in the direction their crewmates had went. This had Nami and Usopp looking at him with wide eyes.

"I'm worried about Wren-chan." Sanji said. "If something goes wrong, I think she'll be one who gets hurt."

"What makes you say that?" Usopp asked. "Wren's the strongest one with them right now."

Chopper, Nami, and even Samba nodded in agreement. Sanji didn't look reassured by their words as he put his hands into his pockets.

"It's just Wren-chan is the type of person to shoulder all the burden if she can." Sanji said. "She's also the type to take a hit for someone. She is a strong woman, but there's only so much a person's body and mind can take."

"That is true." Chopper said. "No matter how strong someone is if their body keeps being attack, something has to give eventually."

Sanji's frowned deepened while knowing Wren has had to have taken plenty of blows physically and mentally over the years. He never wanted to see her breaking point, but if she keeps going as she does, he know it's most likely he and the crew will see it. He'll just have to try and help her shoulder her burdens to put off the impending break, and when it does come, he'll have to make sure to be there for her.

"I still think things are fine right now." Nami said. "They'll probably be back any minute, and we'll be out of here before that Sorbet guy gets here."

As soon as the words left her mouth, a menacing and deep, rumbling roar entered the air that had the crew shaking to their bones. Their eyes widened, and Nami even fell to her knees feeling overpowered by this presence that entered the air. Nobody needed Haki to feel this presence that was bearing down on them all.

"Do…d-do you think that's him?" Usopp squeaked as he was holding Chopper and Samba now.

Nobody replied, but it wasn't as if they needed to. They all knew exactly who that had to be. A dark shape then flew right over them with the force of the wind around it shaking the ship and making the sails billow roughly. The group had to hold on, but once the ship stopped shaking they looked up seeing a large red dragon heading for the city.

"He's huge!" Usopp and Nami squealed while crying.

They knew he had to be scary based of how Wren spoke of him, but that size was just ridiculous.

"He's here sooner than Wren-chan thought." Sanji said as he narrowed his eyes.

He then jumped over the side of the ship to start running towards the city, which had his three crewmates gasping.

"Sanji, where are you going?!" Usopp cried. "Don't leave us here alone!"

"I have to get to Wren!" Sanji shouted over his shoulder while not looking back.

He kept running knowing he had to hurry. He ran as fast as his legs would take him, but he knew the dragon would reach the city first. He was right as he saw the large beast perch on what looked like a church from this distance. The dragon—Sorbet—seemed to be watching something closely, and as long as he wasn't rampaging it meant Sanji had time to get there before anyone was hurt. Suddenly Sorbet opened his mouth while spewing out fire from it.

"No!" Sanji yelled as he heard many people scream.

As he entered the city many people went running past him trying to get away from Sorbet. Sanji kept heading in as Sorbet continued to breath fire down onto the city. He was getting closer to the plaza when he heard a voice in pain rip the air. It was a screaming voice that he recognized instantly, which had his heart dropping.

"Wren!" He shouted as he rounded the corner.

He finally had view of the plaza, and his eyes widened when seeing the chaos. There were many burnt bodies lying on the ground, and pieces of buildings were falling apart as they burned quickly. However, Sanji didn't care about any of that. He was trying to find Wren. Soon his gaze zeroed in on said woman as she was laying on the ground clutching her arm, which was bleeding and burnt. Theodosia was knelt over her along with Luffy as Zoro was standing in front of them with his swords drawn. Robin was even there while looking down at Wren with veiled concern.

"Wren!" Luffy said. "We'll get you to Chopper, I promise!"

Wren just gasped before biting her lip harshly as if trying not to let out her cries of pain.

"Wren!" Sanji shouted again while gaining everyone's attention.

The blonde ran over while falling to his knees beside Wren. He looked at her burns with his teeth gritting together so harshly his cigarette was bit in half with one side falling to the ground.

"S-Sanji-san." Wren murmured. "The others?"

"They're safe, Wren-chan." Sanji assured her. "They're waiting for all of us at the ship."

Wren nodded her head weakly while hating herself for being so weak at the moment. She then looked to Theodosia, who had tears in her eyes, and a silent message seemed to pass between them. Theodosia nodded before carefully moving Wren upwards into a sitting position. Sanji helped once seeing what Theodosia was trying to do.

"We need to get out of here." Wren said. "I can distract him long enough to give everyone a head start. After that—!"

Wren was cut off as Luffy placed his hat on top her head while gently pushing her head down in the process.

"You need to rest." Luffy said firmly as she looked at him in question. "You did well, Wren. Let us take care of the rest."

Before Wren could protest, Luffy turned to glare at Sorbet while standing up. Sanji stood up as well while wanting nothing more than to kick this dragon bastard's ass. Robin took his spot beside Wren to help Theodosia keep Wren in an upright position. Wren glanced at Robin who seemed genuinely concerned. Perhaps this woman wasn't as bad as Wren previously thought.

"You stupid over grown lizard!" Luffy shouted. "I'm going to kick your ass!"

Sorbet turned his head towards Luffy as the young captain was glaring up at him. Luffy was about to tell Zoro and Sanji to step back, but Wren reached up with her burnt up despite the pain to grip the bottom of his shorts. He turned towards her as she looked up at him.

"Luffy-sama," Wren began, "You don't have the power yet to beat someone like him. If you won't allow me to fight, our best option is just to run."

Luffy stared down at Wren as she looked up at him imploringly. Luffy looked back to Sorbet as the dragon waited to see what he would do first.

"Okay." Luffy said. "I don't know about these kinds of things, so I'll take your word for it, Wren. We're retreating! Everyone back to the ship!"

Sanji frowned though didn't disobey the captain's orders. He turned around while carefully picking Wren up. She winced slightly as she was jostled.

"I'm sorry, Wren-chan." Sanji said. "I'll try to be gentle."

Robin helped Theodosia off the ground as they others prepared to run. Theodosia looked back at her father while separated from him by the fire created by Sorbet. The two stared at each other a moment with tears entering Theodosia's eyes.

"Hey!" Zoro spoke sharply getting her attention on him. "You can cry later. Right now we've got to run."

Then without asking Zoro hoisted her up while throwing her over his shoulder. This had her squeaking in surprise. He took off running with the others with Sorbet just letting them go. As they went, Wren wondered why he didn't even try to pursue. There had to be some kind of reasoning. Someone like him didn't let his prey run without a fight. Wren tried to think about it, but felt her mind going fuzzy and her vision going black. She tried to stay awake. However, it was in vain before she soon fell into the darkness.

* * *

Sorbet watched the pirates disappear before he returned to his human form while jumping down into the streets.

"Saturn Wren." Sorbet murmured. "I never thought I'd see her in person."

It wasn't exactly a good family reunion, but he was certain that he would see her again in the future.

"Once she learns of his ties to my family, she will seek us out on her own." Sorbet said. "Until then,"

Sorbet turned his eyes on Clopin who was also looking in the direction the pirates went.

"So you are Florence Clopin." Sorbet said getting his attention. "Tell me, is my bride ready to meet me?"

* * *

"Hey, Chopper, how is Wren doing?" Luffy asked the tiny doctor came out of the galley.

After arriving to the Going Merry, the crew set sail with Chopper immediately seeing to Wren's wounds. He had Sanji place her in the galley since it would be easier for him to treat her there. Before he got started, however, he had Zoro and Luffy bring up a mattress for Wren to lay on. He asked to be left along after that, and was just now coming out.

"She's resting now." Chopper said. "Luckily the burns weren't too deep, so there won't be much if any scar tissue left behind. However, the burns cover her entire right arm and shoulder while partially covering the side of her body including her back down to her waist. For the next few days to week Wren is going to need help doing daily activities she could normally do on her own. Besides that, she'll be fine."

The others let out sighs of relief while happy to hear that. They all had been really worried about Wren. They had no idea if she was going to be okay or not. Theodosia while happy Wren was okay—didn't seem so relieved. She had a guilty look on her face as she looked down at her lap.

"What happened exactly anyway?" Sanji asked frowning. "When I nearing the city Sorbet seemed to be watching something before he attacked."

"Things were going smoothly until that lizard showed up." Zoro said. "It watched us for a few seconds, and it was like it was putting the pieces all together."

"Yeah, then it started firing at Theo!" Luffy said while using the girl's nickname. "Wren got in the way though."

"She tried pushing Gypsy-san out of the way." Robin explained. "And while they were out of the direct line of fire, just being near such intense flames caused the burns on Princess-san's body."

Sanji grit his teeth together while glancing towards the galley. Everyone got quiet while doing the same.

"Hey, Chopper, would it be okay if we went in there?" Nami asked. "I mean, as long as we're quiet?"

"Hmm, I don't see the problem with that." Chopper said honestly. "But you have to remain quiet, so she can rest!"

"Okay!" Luffy said while jumping up.

Luffy then stretched out his arms to reach the top railing to slingshot himself to the galley door. He hurried inside with the others right behind him.

"Luffy, you better not wake her up!" Sanji hissed as he entered the room.

He was surprised as he watched Luffy carefully cover Wren up when seeing her blanket had been a little low.

"Huh, he can be considerate." Nami said as she peeked around Sanji.

The others seemed surprised as well, but didn't comment as they piled into the room. Theodosia sat on one side to Wren's bed as the young woman was sleeping soundly. The look of guilt was still on her face as she looked down at her mistress. Samba chittered softly as she rested on Theodosia's shoulder. She pet Theodosia's head as if trying to offer comfort to the young woman.

"Hey, don't look so guilty." Zoro said as he tapped her on the back of the head causing her to jump in surprise.

She looked back at Zoro as the swordsman sat against the wall with his three swords leaning against his shoulder.

"Wren's the one who decided to come and save you, and I know she isn't the type of person who would want anyone to feel guilt over decisions she made." Zoro said.

Theodosia looked at Zoro in surprise though she knew he was right. It just surprised her how well these pirates seemed to know Wren despite only being with her for a short time.

"Yes, you're right." Theodosia said as she turned back to look at Wren. "It's just…it just seems that Wren-sama is always doing so much for me, and I can never return the favor."

Like that time Wren had Lily save her from sinking along with the rest of that Tenryuubito's ship. Wren had no obligation to help a slave…someone less than human.

"Speaking of that," Robin began. "What you said to Aldric earlier has be curious, Gypsy-san."

Theodosia looked towards Robin as the older female was pinning Theodosia with her sharp gaze.

"You said if it wasn't for Princess-san that you would have died." Robin said. "Also you mentioned being at the mercy of the Tenryuubito."

Theodosia frowned though wasn't surprised someone brought it up. When you mentioned people like them, it's not surprising it'd cause people to talk.

"Tenryuubito?" Chopper asked. "What's that?"

"The Tenryuubito or Celestial Dragons are the World Nobles." Robin said. "They are said to be the direct descendants of the people who created our government and way of life. Some refer to them as gods."

"They sound really important." Chopper said as he tilted his head.

Robin nodded her head because they are very important individuals whom the government protect with their lives. Robin then looked back to Theodosia.

"Aldric also called you a lesser human." Robin said. "I was wondering—!"

"If you are going to ask if I was a slave then I'll answer you now." Theodosia cut in. "Yes, I was a slave. My uncle sold me into slavery when I was nine years old."

Nami gasped placing her hand over her mouth as the others looked at her in shock.

"But slavery is supposed to be against the law." Usopp said. "The government shouldn't allow it."

"There are places left in the world where slavery is still very active, and the government is paid to look the other way by the Tenryuubito who are very fond of slaves." Theodosia said. "And when one is a slave to the Tenryuubito and marked by them, they are then consider less than human. Most people won't even look at you if they ever figure out you're a slave or once was one. They are either too frightened to, or they see you exactly as the Tenryuubito see you…less than human."

Theodosia then turned with Samba moving her hair back, so Theodosia could pull down her right sleeve from her shoulder. There on her shoulder was hoof shaped mark that was obviously a brand.

"This is their mark." Theodosia said. "If anyone were ever to see that, they would know I'm an escape slave."

Sanji's hands clenched into fists as he wondered how anyone could be so inhumane. Not to just a lovely young lady, but to other humans in general. Theodosia covered her mark once more while looking to the others.

"Here in the Grand Line you will learn many things that will have you questioning how things work." Theodosia said. "There will be times where you see how dark the world we live in is. You'll see slavery, discrimination to a severe degree, and much more. It's something to keep in mind the farther into the Grand Line you go."

"That's something like Wren would say." Nami commented. "I guess the both of you have seen a lot, huh?"

Nami couldn't imagine all the horrors Wren and Theodosia have scene. Both come from such dark pasts. Of course, Nami had her own dark past, but she never knew such monstrosities were in the world. Men who would wipe out entire nations just because they feel like. People who would brand and enslave their fellow humans. It was kind of hard to think about.

"Most of the officers Wren-sama has chosen come from similar backgrounds." Theodosia said. "We were exposed to the injustice and darkness of this world by suffering through it firsthand. Wren-sama saved us from our suffering and gave us the tools and strength to fight to make a difference. She showed us a way to follow our own paths and to defy the world while having the strength to deal with what would come afterwards."

As a child Raelin was told she didn't have the right to live, and many people wanted her dead including the government. She had to hide away in her home kingdom and take on her mother's surname to protect herself, but Theodosia knew Raelin never forgot the people who told her she was better off dead. And she knew Raelin remembered how the government was ready to kill a child just because of her heritage. Lily spent most of his life alone because he was born half human and half fishman. His fishman kin shunned him while his human brethren beat him and called him a monster.

Elspeth's home island was filled with nothing but war and despair. The government didn't give aid to her or her people, but the nobles. They made sure all the nobles had been safe and protected while people like Elspeth were left for dead. The other officers went through their own hardships at the hands of the world, but Wren saved them all. She then gave them two options. They could continue life as they were and accept that's just how things were, or they could join her and fight to make a difference. All the officers Wren has now—minus Monet—have no regrets choosing the path they did. Theodosia would do it all over again and again, and no matter how many hardships come, she would continue trudging alongside Wren through the filthiest muck the world has in store for them.

"Is that her dream?" Luffy suddenly asked.

Everyone turned towards the captain seeing he seemed uncharacteristically serious at the moment.

"Dream?" Theodosia asked.

"Yeah," Luffy said nodding. "Is it Wren's dream to make a difference? All she's really talked about to taking down this Flamingo guy, but that sounds more like goal. But when you talk about how she's worked to fight against injustice…it sounds more like a dream."

It was silent for a moment as Luffy's words sunk into everyone's head. They had to admit he had a point. Wren treated defeating Doflamingo like a goal…like a job. But when Theodosia spoke so passionately about how Wren has worked to show people how to survive in this world, and how to fight against it, it sounded as if it was Wren's dream to make a difference in this world. Theodosia then lightly smiled a slightly saddened smile as she looked to Luffy.

"I suppose you could say it is." Theodosia said. "However, I believe she's somewhat given up on that dream. She doesn't believe she'll live once she clashes with Doflamingo, and even if she does, she's so tired and doesn't believe she has a reason to live afterwards. So her teaching her officers how to navigate through this world and how to stir things up…I believe it's her way of making sure someone else can complete her dream once she's gone."

Everyone was silent once more while turning their eyes on the unconscious Wren. In a way, they believed they knew Wren much better now. Despite acting cool and collected and treating things like a game of chess, deep down she was a person who worried about others and the state of the world. She had a great dream to make a difference, but has resigned herself into believing she wouldn't see it fulfilled, so she made sure there would be others to take her place. Sanji, who was sitting at the table, let out of puff of smoke. Wren really was one hell of woman.

* * *

Coco: Hello and welcome to the second SBS! There aren't many questions this time around either, but maybe the longer I do the SBS the more people will ask questions :D Anyway, the first question is from ArtistGiumi!

ArtistGiumi: How many words do you type for 1 chapter?

Coco: Well, I usually push for 4,000+ words. Most of the time I keep it in the 4,000 to 6,000 word range. Though I've had chapters go for nearly 9,000 to 10,000 words because I couldn't find a stopping point earlier on, or I just wanted to finish off something I had planned here or there.

Coco: The second question comes from a guest reviewer!

Guest: About wren's sword, is it also a Meito like zoro's kotetsu and if is then what grade is it?

Coco: Wren's sword is a Meito like Zoro's sword. It is part of the 21 O Wazamono Grade Swords or 21 Great Grade Swords like Zoro's Wado Ichimonji. It is also classed as a cursed sword like Zoro's Kitetsu. How it got its name and how it became classed as such will be explained later on in the story because I don't want to spoil it ;)

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And that's the end of this SBS. I hope everyone liked it along with the chapter :D The Ruluka Arc will be next. :D

*Ittoryu-one sword style


	28. Landing on Ruluka

Wren frowned looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a fuchsia colored dress shirt that was under a black vest that had gold buttons. Over that was a black tail coat that stopped mid-torso in the front with the tails falling past the back of her knees. Wrapped around her neck was a white steam punk cravat that was left untucked from her vest. She then had on a black skirt that stopped mid-thigh with ruffles on the end. Finally she had on fuchsia stockings on her legs and Victorian boots on her feet. Her clothes covered her bandages except on her hand.

She was mostly recovered from what happened on Romani Island, which was a week ago. Her crewmates all helped her throughout the week even when she tried to assure them she could function on her own. Luffy tried to keep her spirits up by being goofier than usual. Nami and Robin have insisted on helping her bath and dress, so not to stress her arm. Usopp helped her set out her deck chair more than once. Sanji has paid more attention to her than usual, and made sure she didn't have to lift a finger all week. Hell even Zoro asked her if she was well enough to help move stuff in the storage room. Of course, Chopper also made sure to check her wounds and such, but he is the doctor of the ship. The only one who hasn't tried to help her out unnecessarily is Theodosia and technically Samba.

"While I do appreciate them caring enough to help I do hope they soon realize I can function on my own." Wren said to herself.

She then picked up Banshī as the ship shook again. Hmm, the marines were still on their tail it would seem. Not that she was surprised. There were now four people on board with bounties, and after the trouble they caused on Romani, the marines had to be wanting to stop them as soon as possible before they stirred things up even more.

"I suppose I should join the others on board." Wren said.

She left the woman's quarters while seeing Nami had the boys rowing to get away from the marines who were trying to close in.

"This is really getting old." Usopp said. "If the marines keep attacking us like this and we keep running, I'm going to drop dead."

"Not if those cannonballs gets us before that!" Nami shouted. "Now shut up and row!"

A marine ship that was coming close to their starboard side fired off rounds of cannonballs, which had Nami screeching in fright. However, before they could get close, Wren sprang into action. She drew Banshi while quickly using it to cut the cannonballs in half. They fell to the ocean harmlessly as Wren landed on the railing.

"Wren!" Nami exclaimed happily. "Thank goodness. Are you sure you can handle those cannonballs?"

"Please, have more faith in me." Wren said dryly. "I am not an invalid."

Nami sweat-dropped guessing Wren's patience was running a bit thin with the special treatment they've been giving her while she's sick.

"Right." Nami said. "Well, in that case protect the ship as much as you can from those cannonballs."

"I can do that." Wren said then glanced at Theodosia who was helping with the rowing.

She was in a white sleeveless dress that had a high collar. The dress fell down to her ankles, but had a large slit on the front left side with ruffles on the hem of the dress. Under the dress she had long black leggings that went down to her ankles. She had a black corset around her torso below her breasts, and around it was a few small thin belts with one of them holding her two hook swords to her waist. Over her shoulders was a small red shall that stopped just past her shoulder blades. Then on her feet were simple sandals.

"Theodosia, I believe you might have to use that technique." Wren said. "If we want the marines off of our tails, it might be the only way to give us enough time to get away."

The others were confused by Wren's words, but Theodosia nodded with a big smile on her face.

"As you wish, Wren-sama." Theodosia said as she looked to Luffy. "Luffy, can you help with the rowing, so I can help Wren-sama?"

Luffy, who was sprawled out on the ground, groaned looking as if he was sick or something else along those lines.

"Sorry, I've got no strength." Luffy said. "I haven't eaten in hours."

"How about a taste of the back of my hand?!" Sanji demanded. "Now help the lady out!"

Luffy just groaned again while not looking as if he'd be moving any time soon.

"Just go!" Zoro said as he continued rowing. "I'll be fine on my own."

Theodosia nodded her head while moving to go to the back of the ship where most of the marine ships were. The marines fired with the cannonballs coming right towards the ship.

"Now, Kaosu-Kaosu: forwards is backwards." Theodosia said while moving her hands in a flipping motion.

Chopper, who had run back to join her, gasped as the cannonballs suddenly started shooting backwards. It wasn't as if they turned around. They just suddenly started sailing back the way they came. Some of the cannonballs hit the marine ships, which made them start sinking.

"Whoa!" Chopper said. "That's so cool!"

The others—besides Wren and Samba who was clapping for Theodosia—were shocked at what happened as the marines' formation broke giving them an opening.

"How in the world did she do that?!" Usopp asked.

"Who cares?!" Nami snapped. "Thanks to Theo the marines' formation is collapsing! We've got to use this opportunity to escape!"

"Right!" Everyone said.

The boys rowed faster as Theodosia jumped down from the railing to go join the others once more. Samba climbed onto Theodosia's shoulder, which had the brunette smiling at the monkey.

"This should make for an easier escape." Wren said. "Well done."

Theodosia beamed at the praise as Wren, who had also jumped down from the railing, pat Theodosia on top her head.

* * *

After escaping the marines the crew took a moment to rest as the Going Merry sailed over some shallow reefs.

"We lose them?" Usopp asked Robin as they were looking around them for any signs of marines.

"It appears so." Robin said.

"I don't sense their presences anymore, which means they are too far out of my range." Wren said. "This is good news."

Usopp did feel assured by that, but he was getting a bit tired of dealing with the marines so much. It seems like every time they turn around that they have the marines on their tails.

"The marines sure have been dogging us a lot lately." Usopp said.

"Well," Zoro began as he sat down. "When you have three people on board with big bounties on their heads can't blame them for going all out."

Wren tilted her head while quite sure that Zoro counted that wrong because there were four on the ship with big bounties on their heads. Luffy's went up to 100 million, her bounty of 90 million was reinstated, Robin had one of 79 million, and Zoro had his starting bounty of 60 million. She was about to point this out, but decided against. She'd let them find out. Though it sometimes bothered her at how her crew couldn't keep up with current news and who's making the biggest ripples in the water lately.

"Wait, do you have a bounty, Theo?" Usopp asked her. "As once a member of the Donquixote Pirate Crew and Wren's subordinate, I'm sure you made a name for yourself."

"Actually, Doflamingo has never met me and doesn't even know I work with Wren-sama." Theodosia said. "And all my other work for his crew was done so much on the down low that no one knows me. I'm just a little nobody as far as the rest of the world is concerned."

"Really?" Usopp asked.

Theodosia nodded her head as Samba climbed down from her shoulder to go join some of the others at the head of the ship.

"In the public's eye I have four executive officers at my disposal." Wren said holding up four fingers. "They are Raelin, Tiger Lily, Elspeth, and Monet. What most people don't know is that those four have their own officers that I assigned to them. While Doflamingo knew I had a second row of officers, he didn't care enough to get to know them because they weren't part of the "family", so it's easier for my second row to move around and do my bidding behind his back while the first row seem to have remained loyal to him."

Of course, Valentine had to be careful out he moved since Monet wasn't one of Wren's loyal subordinates. Wren was just lucky Monet never met the other three, or she could inform Doflamingo of them, which could put all the officers in danger. And anyone else who ever served under Wren as she was Corazon.

"You really thought of everything when you were putting your plan together, didn't you?" Usopp asked.

Wren shrugged modestly as Usopp wondered just how smart Wren was. And how she became so good at thinking so far ahead?

"Hey, Theo, what was that power you used to send those cannonballs back at the marines?" Chopper asked. "They were coming at us then suddenly they started sailing backwards."

"I was wondering too." Zoro, who had caught a glimpse of it while he was rowing, said. "Is it a devil fruit power?"

Theodosia blushed when having Zoro's eyes on her, but she did nod her head as she averted her eyes from the swordsman.

"When I was a slave, I was force given the Kaosu-Kaosu no Mi." Theodosia said. "It is a power that allows me to take what is normal and flip to where it shouldn't be possible. Like, people say what must come up must come down. With my power I can toss something up and make sure it never comes down. Or say in societies eyes the nobles are on top while everyone else is below, I can flip that around."

"In other words, she can flip the world on its head if she wanted." Wren said.

She then went to join Nami, Chopper, and Luffy at the front of the ship. Luffy was laying on top Merry's figurehead still looking as tired as he did earlier even if he didn't do anything.

"Luffy, you should move." Nami said. "There's a chance we could hit one of these shallow reefs, and you could get thrown overboard."

Luffy just weakly raised his head, and Wren was starting to feel sorry for the poor boy. Maybe if she asked Sanji to prepare something, he'd whip something up real fast for Luffy. As they started sailing around the side of a cliff, Chopper spotted something near the shore.

"Look it's a harbor!" Chopper exclaimed.

At his words, Luffy immediately perked up while quickly sitting up to look around.

"Where?" He asked.

"There!" Chopper replied pointing. "Right next to that lighthouse!"

Wren looked at this "lighthouse" with a quirked brow since it was oddly shaped.

"A harbor means a town, and a town means restaurants and that means food!" Luffy said. "Yahoo!"

Wren chuckled at how excited he was as the ship docked along the shoreline just out of town. None of them believed pirates would be welcomed here. Most towns didn't welcome pirates after all. Chopper was the first to leave the ship with this medical bag in tow along with Samba who decided to hitch a ride on his hat. The small monkey seemed to like the small doctor and his pink hat. Usopp and Luffy were next with Robin, Nami, and Theodosia close behind.

"It seems as if everyone is eager to leave the ship." Wren commented. "Well, almost everyone."

She glanced back at Zoro who was snoozing away without a care in the world. She has never met anyone who sleeps as much as Zoro.

"Please, just forget about that shitty Marimo, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he frowned down at Zoro. "No need to waste our time on him. Now, shall we go ashore?"

He held out his hand to Wren while he placed his other on his chest. Wren smiled at him while placing her hand in his.

"It sounds like a lovely idea to me." Wren said smiling.

Sanji got that goofy love struck look in his eyes as he helped Wren down from the ship even if she didn't need it.

"Hey, it isn't a lighthouse." Chopper commented getting the group attention.

"It sure is tall." Usopp said. "I wonder what it is."

Wren wondered as well, and a part of her wished to investigate. However, it wasn't her business, and as long as it didn't affect the crew, it would remain not her business.

"Who cares?" Luffy asked as the group started heading towards town. "Let's get some food."

"Alright, wipe the drool from your face." Nami said.

Luffy didn't seem to hear her as he kept looking around excitedly for any sign of food, which had Nami rolling her eyes.

"Food does sound good right about now though." Theodosia said laughing.

"I know, right?!" Luffy said looking at her in excitement. "Let's get a whole lot of it!"

Nami shook her head at the pair as Chopper was starting to round the corner of the cliff.

"You there! Halt!" A voice called out.

The tiny reindeer came to a stop as did the others. Wren looked up while seeing some kind of sentry walking up to the group.

"Here on Ruluka there is a requirement for all visitors, who more their ships at the harbor or along the rocks." He said. "You must first pay all the request harbor dues."

Wren nearly rolled her eyes at this man. Paying dues to dock somewhere that wasn't even on the docks? It sounded ludicrous.

"What are harbor dues?" Chopper asked.

"It's a tax we have to pay for docking our ship." Usopp explained.

But even he didn't understand why they had to do that if they didn't dock at the harbor.

"But if we're going to do some trading in the city, why do we have to pay a tax just to dock here?" Nami asked.

That's when the man pulled out a gun to point directly at Nami. Theodosia placed one hand on the hilt of one of her swords, but remained still. As long as the trigger wasn't pulled, she'd play nice.

"Because it's your duty." He said. "Now pay up, or you'll regret it."

Sanji was about to step in, but Wren placed a hand on his chest to keep him back. Though he wanted to put himself between Nami and the gun, he remained in place for Wren.

"Duty?" Wren asked as she stepped up. "As what?"

"Law abiding citizens!" The man said. "Don't make me ask twice! Hand over the fee."

Wren chuckled an almost sinister chuckle as her lips curled up into an unfriendly smirk.

"Dear Sir, we are pirates." Wren said. "So I would think twice about pointing a gun at any one of us. We're not law abiding citizens after all, so there's no telling what might happen to you if you remain in our way."

The man actually gulped with his body shaking slightly, which meant his gun wasn't aimed properly. Wren's smirk then widened as she chuckled.

"Too late." Wren said.

This confused everyone, but Wren just managed to step out of the way as Luffy went charging forward.

"Foood! Here I come!" Luffy shouted while plowing down the man. "Food! Food! Food!"

He kept running towards the town while not even seeming to notice that he had run over someone.

"I did try to warn him." Wren said then glanced back at Theodosia. "If you want to find food, your best bet is to follow Luffy-sama."

"Right!" Theodosia, who had Samba on her shoulders, said then ran after their captain. "Luffy, wait up!"

She ran over the man as well when he tried to pick himself up, which meant he was eating a face full of dirt again. Wren turned towards her friends with a small smile.

"I say we continue into town." Wren said. "What do you think, Nami-san?"

"Yeah," Nami said smiling as she and Wren started to walk forward. "I need to buy some blank charts to draw maps on."

"And I am running low on tea." Wren said. "Perhaps some clothes shopping can be fit in between, hmm?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Nami said winking.

Wren smiled in return as Sanji and Chopper were following behind the two women.

"Great! I'll come with you, Nami-swan, Wren-chwan!" Sanji said smiling goofily.

"Me too!" Chopper said jumping up and down.

Wren smiled down at the reindeer as he walked alongside her with a large grin on his face. They kept walking while not even seeming to notice they left Robin and Usopp behind.

"I do not know if this town will really carry anything of my taste, but perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised." Wren said.

"Wren-chan, you'd look beautiful in anything!" Sanji complimented as he clasped his hands together.

Wren pat Sanji on top his head while thanking him for his compliment as Chopper sweat-dropped.

"Don't worry, Wren." Nami said smiling. "I'll be sure to help you pick out the cutest clothes."

Wren smiled once more while feeling at ease. It's nice doing something so leisurely like shopping with friends. It almost reminds her of the times she and Dellinger have gone shopping on Dressrosa or any of the islands they visited. Nami then hooked her arm around Wren's, which had the slightly older woman blinking.

"This is going to be fun." Nami said with her smile widening.

* * *

"This is really good." Theodosia murmured as she and Luffy were eating at a restaurant they found.

Luffy nodded his head in agreement while eating the spaghetti on his plate. Theodosia was eating the same while Samba was eating some fruit Theodosia had ordered for her.

"Hey, there you two are."

Theodosia and Luffy both blinked before turning their heads to see Usopp and Robin along with some old guy. The three of them joined Theodosia and Luffy at their table as Luffy was finishing off his first plate of spaghetti.

"Usopp, Robin, were you two hungry too?" Theodosia asked curiously.

"Heh, not really." Robin said with a slight chuckle. "But may we join you anyway?"

Theodosia nodded her head as Luffy ordered another order of the day's special with that old man doing the same. The owner of the restaurant frowned at the old man, but did bring out two orders.

"Here you go." He said. "You do have money to pay for that, right?"

"Actually my friend here is paying." The old man said while pointing at Usopp.

Usopp blinked in confusion for a second before seeming to realize what the man had said.

"No, I'm not!" Usopp denied.

"If I'm going to tell you the secrets of the Rainbow Mist, of course you are." The old man retorted. "It's the least you can do."

He then took a drink of water as Theodosia tilted her head partially. Secrets of the Rainbow Mist?

"I'm not even the one who asked you, jerk!" Usopp snapped.

"Usopp, it's okay." Theodosia said. "I'll help you pay."

Usopp turned towards Theodosia as she pulled out a wallet that didn't look as if it'd belong to her.

"Uh, where'd you get that?" Usopp asked.

"Well, Luffy and I passed some guys carrying guns earlier, and I might have taken one to two of their wallets." Theodosia said then put six different wallets on the table. "Maybe more."

Usopp's mouth dropped open in shock as he looked at Theodosia with wide eyes. She smiled at him in return as Samba stashed away the wallets into her master's bag.

"You're just like Nami." Usopp deadpanned.

Theodosia just continued to smile at Usopp who wondered if he needed to be watching his own wallet while around this girl. He's heard gypsies were raised as thieves sometimes, so he supposed he shouldn't be surprised.

"Anyway, who's the old man?" Theodosia asked pointing at their lunch guest.

She had nothing against him joining in, but she would like to know what his name is.

"My name isn't old man." Said man said for himself. "My name is Henzo. I'm a genius—repeat genius—scientist, and my field of research is the Rainbow Mist."

"Calling yourself a genius doesn't make you one." Usopp grumbled. "Self-important jackass would be a more accurate title."

Robin looked amused by Usopp's grumbling though quickly went to speak before Henzo and Usopp could perhaps start an argument.

"Tell me, Mr. Henzo," Robin began.

"It's Professor Henzo, miss." Henzo corrected.

"Hey." Usopp chided while lightly hitting the man.

Henzo ignored him along with Robin who pulled out a book that had Rainbow Mist as the title.

"Professor Henzo," Robin began once more. "Do you know this book?"

"Is that—?!" Henzo exclaimed.

He took the book from Robin to look over with keen interest. Theodosia was slightly interested in what was going on, but just kept her mouth shut as she continued eating like Luffy.

"I came across it in Alabasta." Robin said.

"So that' it." Usopp said. "I thought Rainbow Mist sounded kind of familiar. It turns out I was right. It's the title of the book Robin's been reading."

He then helped himself to come of the spaghetti he had ordered for himself earlier.

"I can't figure out who authored the book." Robin said. "But it was written well over forty years ago. According to the book the Rainbow Mist could possibly be the Garden of the Gods or even El Dorado the fabled city of gold. What do you think, Professor?"

"The latter is nothing more than a legend." Henzo said as he looked away from the book. "Many adventures have fallen prey to its lore and the potential for finding untold riches inside. Countless people have sailed off in search for the Rainbow Mist never to be seen again. Including some dear friends of mine."

When he mentioned friends, Theodosia looked up from her food towards Henzo. So he was researching the Rainbow Mist out of more than just curiosity.

"So that's why you're researching the mist." Usopp said.

A plate of spaghetti was then placed on the table in front of Theodosia who gladly started eating it.

"Hey, friend," The owner said. "I wouldn't take whatever that guy says with a grain of salt."

"Yeah, why's that?" Usopp asked.

"Because he's one of Mayor Wetton's dogs that's why." The owner said.

"A dog?" Luffy and Theodosia asked in unison.

* * *

"This place has better shopping than I thought it would." Wren said as she walked out of another story with Nami.

Nami nodded her head smiling as Chopper and Sanji, who were carrying their bags, followed after them. Chopper sweat-dropped wondering how much more these two could buy.

"And we've gotten so many deals." Nami said. "You're really good at negotiating."

"Handling negotiations is something I excel at." Wren said. "They're better than my strategizing skills if I am being honest. Though you seem to handle negotiations well yourself, Nami-san."

Chopper was sure that haggling was the better word to use to describe how the women were getting their clothes for so cheap.

"Nami-san and Wren-chan are so cute when they're shopping together." Sanji said as he practically cooed at the woman. "Like two angels."

"I wouldn't go that far, Sanji-san." Wren said looking back at the blonde. "An angel is far from what I am.  
She gave a teasing smirk that had Sanji melting at the sight and falling to his knees. Nami giggled behind her hand thinking it was cute how Sanji and Wren interacted.

"So sexy~" Sanji said in awe.

Chopper sweat-dropped at Sanji as he continued to gaze up at Wren as if she was the most beautiful creature in the entire world.

"So where should we go next?" Nami asked. "I saw a place that looked as if it had some really cute shoes and accessories."

"You're still going to shop?" Chopper asked.

Didn't they have enough stuff already? It seemed like a lot to him, and he couldn't carry much more.

"Well, of course, Chopper." Nami said. "I still need some blank charts. If we run out of them at sea, we'll be in big trouble."

"I also still need tea as well." Wren added. "Also I need to add a few Den-Den Mushi that way I can keep up with my informants. I also need to purchase a black den-den mushi though I have a feeling I won't find one here. However, perhaps I'll be surprised as I was with the shopping."

"I can understand getting those things." Chopper said. "But what about all this all girly stuff you two bought?"

He didn't understand it at all. Why did girls need a lot of clothes and other girly things?

"Wren-chwan, Nami-swan, I'd follow you into the depths of hell itself just to watch you shop for gorgeous new outfits." Sanji said with his eye in the shape of a heart.

Wren sweat-dropped while pretty sure Sanji would have important things to do than shop with them in hell or even every time they go shopping.

"There they are, Lake!" A voice called out. "The ones I told you about."

Wren and the others looked up seeing that man Luffy had run over earlier coming up the street. Wren then saw a man wearing an odd suit with a large metal top with expendable arms that had pinchers at the end.

"You're the insolent folks who didn't pay your taxes at the harbor, huh?" The man wearing the suit asked. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm the grandson of Mayor Wetton, Lake. Also I'm the officer who ceases unpaid taxes here, so pay up or else."

Wren tilted her head at this man while casually placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. That suit of his made her cautious. It couldn't be just for looks. Before she could do anything, however, Sanji stepped in front of Wren.

"Not sure what's going on here, but you're messing up the ladies' shopping trip." Sanji said. "Back up, Pal, or you're gonna get hurt."

It was silent for a long moment as the two men stared each other down. Wren frowned while reaching forward to grasp Sanji's jacket. This had the blonde glancing back at her as she was looking up at him.

"Sanji-san, we don't know what that suit of his can do, we have to be careful on how we attack." Wren said. "I would like to avoid any of being harmed."

"Don't worry, Wren-chan." Sanji said smiling back at her. "I won't let a single hair on your head be harmed."

"I'm more worried about you, Sanji-san." Wren said.

Sanji got that goofy grin on his face as he turned around to face Wren while spreading out his arms.

"You're worried about me, Wren-chwan?~" Sanji asked. "Really?~"

Before Wren could answer, Lake ran forward to attack, which had Sanji whirling around while making sure he was fully in between Wren and Lake. Sanji went to kick Laken in the face, but when his foot connected to Lake's suit, an electrical charge was set off that had Sanji falling to his back.

"Sanji!" Chopper cried out.

"What the hell are you doing, Sanji?!" Nami demanded as both she and Chopper hid against a wall out of the line of fire.

Wren knelt down beside Sanji while placing her hands on Sanji's shoulders to help him sit up.

"That hurt." Sanji said. "The moment I touched his body I was electrocuted."

Wren knew something had to be up with that suit the second she saw it. Does he use that suit to channel a devil fruit power?

"You got it." Lake said. "And that happens to anyone foolish enough to touch me."

"But how?" Nami asked.

"There's only one way." Chopper said. "He must have the abilities of a devil fruit!"

Lake fired a wave of electricity after that, and Wren moved to get in front of Sanji. She tried to use her haki to disrupt the electricity, but when it hit her without fail, she knew it couldn't be a devil fruit. She winced as the electricity traveled through her body. However, it wasn't what hurt her most. It was what the electricity did to her still mending wound. Wren shook in pain as she clutched her arm tightly.

"Wren!" Sanji shouted as he carefully put his hands on her waist.

"It's not a devil fruit." Wren said as she frowned at Lake. "My haki would have stopped it if it was."

"Then what could it be?!" Chopper asked.

That's when the group noticed the personal generator behind Lake that was being run by some of his men.

"A personal generator?!" Sanji, Nami, and Chopper snapped.

Wren frowned because she should have paid more attention to her surroundings. If she had, she would have saw the generator, and would have smartly avoided the attack. Wren then looked to Sanji as he tightened his hold on her waist.

"You shitty bastard." Sanji growled. "I won't forgive you for harming a lady. Especially Wren!"

Though some of his anger was focused on Lake, he felt most of it directed at himself for letting her get hurt.

"Wren-chan, I'm sorry." Sanji said. "It's my fault you were hurt. I promise that he won't touch you again."

Lake had his men up the output on his suit, which had the group's hair, or fur in Chopper's case, standing on end.

"Ya know, maybe we should have paid those taxes." Nami said.

Chopper just shook trying to get rid of the electric feeling that was covering his fur.

"Let me give you a bigger taste of what my electric shock suit can do." Lake said. "Rolling Thunder!"

He sent another wave of electricity at Sanji and Wren who were quick to move. Sanji picked up Wren then jumped to the side to void the attack. He stumbled backwards onto his backside, but he kept firm hold onto Wren to make sure she wasn't too jostled.

"Dammit," Sanji cursed.

Lake laughed getting the group's attention back onto the grandson of the mayor.

"Nicely dodged." Lake said. "But you won't evade me from your taxes again, Pretty Boy."

Sanji grit his teeth together then stood up while keeping Wren in his arms as if he was afraid she'd get hurt if he put her down. She looked up at him wondering why he was so intent on holding onto her. Worrying about her so much would only distract him from the fight before him. Sanji moved to where Chopper and Nami were hiding. He set Wren down in front of Chopper.

"Chopper, look out for Wren-chan and Nami-san." Sanji ordered.

"Gotcha!" Chopper said.

Sanji set down Nami's bags besides the woman before turning to face Link who was smirking.

"Sanji-san, be careful." Wren said.

Sanji turned to look at Wren with a smile on his face, which slightly put her at ease.

"Don't worry, my dear." Sanji said. "I'll be just fine. After all this excitement, I'll be sure to whip you up some tea to enjoy and relax with."

Wren hoped he would be okay. She would just step in herself, but she knew Sanji would insist on fighting this battle. Besides, she can't keep treating her crewmates like babies forever. She had to trust that Sanji could get through this without her help. Lake went to use that attack again, but Sanji tried to attack before he could use it. He kicked Lake while only being shocked once more.

"This isn't good." Wren said. "His body can't keep taking that electricity. Any normal person would have dropped by now."

"Then it's a good thing he's not normal." Nami said as she held her bags. "I'm just glad my things are safe."

Chopper looked at her as if she was some kind of monster from horror stories. Sanji then had to jump backwards before Lake could hit him with a Rolling Thunder. He kept dodging as the electricity chased after him. However, one nicked him, which had Chopper gasping.

"Sanji!" Chopper shouted.

"I pretty much dodged that last one." Sanji said. "I barely felt anything."

Sanji fell to his knees for a moment while letting out a huff. This wasn't going good for him at all.

"Oh really?" Lake asked.

Wren was starting to really get worried about Sanji since really couldn't take getting shocked like that much more. Sanji slowly stood to his feet while looking as if he made up his mind about something. He took off running towards his friends, which prompted Lake to run after him. The fool didn't realize that was a mistake until he was tugged backwards onto his back by the cords that hooked him to his generators.

"Let's move, guys." Sanji said as he picked up Nami's bags again while helping Wren to her feet even if she could move her legs just fine. "I've got you, Wren-chan."

"Thank-you, Sanji-san, but I can run on my own." Wren said. "Let's just get back to the ship. Hopefully the others will already be there."

* * *

Wren and the others arrived to where they left the ship while seeing it was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey!" Sanji cried out.

"The Going Merry…it's gone!" Chopper said.

"But Zoro was on board!" Nami said. "What happened?!"

"Zoro-san was out cold when he we left him here." Wren said. "And I believe we all know how deeply he can sleep."

Nami and Sanji hung their heads because that was true. He slept through all that crap they went through when they left the Twin Capes to go to Whiskey Peak. They wouldn't be surprised if he was asleep still on the ship as someone was sailing off of it.

"Those guys from earlier must have taken it plus Zoro since we didn't pay their taxes." Chopper said.

"Well, that's just great." Nami said.

"That good for nothing shitty Marimo probably slept through it all." Sanji said.

Wren frowned because this did put them in a bit of a pickle. How were they going to get away from Link and that annoying suit of his now? Pay the taxes? Actually Wren would prefer ending the annoying man's life than paying his and his mayor's taxes. She just hoped the others were all okay where they were because for some reason she couldn't sense them anymore. Could they be out of her haki's rang?

* * *

Coco: Now, everyone don't forget to send in your questions for the SBS. I'll probably do it after the Jaya Arc that way you have more time to ask questions. And if you don't want to leave them in reviews then message me. I promise, I don't bite XD


	29. Exploring Ape's Concert

Coco: Alrighty, my dear readers, here is another update for you XD I know it's earlier than most since usually my update days recently have been Thursday or Friday, but I didn't seem the harm in uploading this once I finished it this morning XD Anyway, just wanted to point out that I had messed up Lake's name last chapter by calling him Link. But that was corrected in that chapter and in this chapter. Also, I would like to explain to the guest reviewer that I didn't leave out Robin's bounty last chapter. It was more like Zoro isn't supposed to know about his yet until the point where the crew is leaving for Sky Island. Though in the filler he did know it, which kind of feels like a mistake since he still acts surprised about his bounty at the moment where Teach his saying he's after Zoro's head too. So as of right now, Zoro has no clue he has a bounty or that Luffy's has gone up, so when he said "three people with big bounties on their heads" he was only referring to Luffy, Robin, and Wren. I hope this cleared things up.

And don't forget about the SBS corner! I've already gotten a few lovely questions for it, and I'd like more. Also remember that I'm going to do it after the Jaya Arc, so that people have more time to send in questions if they'd like. Remember you can pm me your questions if you don't want them in a review.

* * *

Theodosia let out a sigh as she and Samba sat beside the lamb figurehead at the front of the ship. Around them was mist and wrecked ships that looked as if they have been where they are for many, many years.

"Wren-sama, isn't going to be happy with me for this." Theodosia said shaking her head.

Samba copied her as if agreeing with the young gypsy. Of course, there was no changing things now, was there? Theodosia knew going along with Luffy into the mist might not be a good idea. After all, they had no idea to get back, or to warn the rest of their crewmates where they were. Though Luffy didn't seem too worried about it. In fact, he was exploring this very second with a very reluctant Usopp in tow.

"Whoa, look!" Luffy exclaimed getting Theodosia to look over at him. "There's sunken ships everywhere as far as the eye can see!"

"Why don't we just stop?" Usopp asked. "A ghost captain could appear around here any minute now!"

His words did quip Theodosia's interest, and if she was honest, she did want to take a look around. However, she knew she needed to be more worried about finding a way out of here. If Wren had to come looking for her, Theodosia was sure she wouldn't be pleased. Of course, Wren has never actually gotten angry at her or any of the others before, but dealing with her disappoint would probably be worse than having to deal with her anger.

"Whoa, really?" Luffy asked Usopp. "Hey, Ghost Captain!"

"Stop that!" Usopp snapped.

Luffy just laughed before turning his attention onto Theodosia who was watching him and Usopp have fun. Well, it was fun in his opinion.

"Theo, come on!" Luffy shouted. "Let's go exploring! Don't you feel the adventure?!"

Theodosia bit her lip while wanting to go along with Luffy, and maybe looking around would help her find a way out. Sitting here moping wasn't getting her anywhere, right? Theodosia finally grinned while making a decision.

"Okay!" Theodosia said.

She hopped to her feat with Samba quickly climbing onto her back, so no to be left behind. Theodosia nimbly jumped over to the ship Luffy was on before going up to where her captain was knelt.

"Where should we start first?" Theodosia asked.

"Ummmm, I know!" Luffy said. "Let's go inside this ship!"

He pointed to the one they were standing on, and Theodosia nodded her head before following Luffy inside.

"Hey, wait for me, you two!" Usopp shouted as he scrambled after them.

He followed them inside while quickly catching up to them, so not to be left alone. For a while they looked through the ship without finding anything of real interest. As Theodosia walked into a kitchen like area with the boys, she stood a bit straighter when a few small presences triggered her haki. She frowned lightly while tilting her head. There seemed to be…two very close by, but there were a few more scurrying around. She looked towards a crack in the ceiling where the two close presences were. She could have sworn she saw quick movement, but she didn't need to see anything because she trusted her haki

"Hey, Theodosia, we're going to the next room, okay?" Luffy called out to her.

This brought her attention away from the two presences that she felt moving away from them.

"Coming, Captain." Theodosia said.

She went along with the boys while not forgetting they had company with them. The presences were small, so she felt as if they were children, and if they were, she'd leave them be for now. However, if they proved to be a threat, she'd deal with them promptly. As she followed the boys into the next room, she was surprised to see multiple treasure chests in the room.

"Whoa!" Luffy said. "Look at all this stuff."

He ran over to a chest quickly to open it up to reveal gems and gold inside the chest.

"Do you think all of these chests have treasure in them?" Usopp asked looking around.

"We can open them to find out." Theodosia suggested.

So the three pirates and one monkey quickly went to open the chests to reveal all were full with treasure.

"This is amazing." Luffy said grinning. "Let's go show Robin and Pops! Usopp, help me with the big one!"

"Okay, okay." Usopp said then went to help the young captain.

The two of them managed to grab the biggest and heaviest chest on their own, and with Theodosia's help in guiding them out, they made it to the top of the ship. They scaled down it slightly before standing on the railing that placed them above the Going Merry where Robin, Henzo, and the still sleeping Zoro were.

"Hey!" Luffy called getting their attention. "Pretty cool, huh?"

The railing beneath them then snapped causing them all to fall down towards the ship. While Theodosia managed to land on her feet on the ships railing, Usopp hit face first on the deck causing him pain. Luffy ended up having to snag the railing, so not to fall into the water below. Of course the treasure chest fell with them while opening up to spill some of the treasure out onto the deck.

"What is this?" Henzo asked looking down at the treasure.

"It's amazing." Luffy said as he was pulling himself up. "And there's a whole lot more left inside the ship!"

"I think we should go get it." Theodosia said. "We are pirates after all."

Luffy laughed liking that idea as Usopp gave Theodosia a deadpanned expression. She really was like Nami when it came to treasure and money just not as manic about it. Then she seemed to like going on dangerous adventures like Luffy. Not a good combination.

"Yeah, let's go explore some more!" Luffy said. "And bring back lots of treasure!"

Theodosia nodded in agreement with a large smile on her face. Robin slightly smiled at the two before looking towards Henzo.

"Well, perhaps it isn't a paradise, but the part about treasure seems true though." Robin said. "So maybe the book isn't entirely wrong, huh?"

Henzo just lightly hummed while crossing his arms over his chest as if he didn't wish to answer her. The sound of bells then went off, which had the group pausing in what they were doing. Theodosia partially narrowed her eyes while feeling that the little presences were back and they brought friends.

"You dare to disturb the eternal rest of the dead." A supposedly embodied voice spoke up.

Usopp squeaked in shock as he sat up on the deck while looking around in fright.

"Did you hear that?" Usopp asked.

No one answered him as the group continued to look around the area. Theodosia tried to zero in on the presences to sense how many there were and where they were hiding. She glanced behind her sensing two in a ship in waiting. One was in a crow's nest from a ship to the right of them. Then another was hiding in the shadows before an opened window diagonally across from the one in the crow's nest. That was four so far, but there was a fifth. Now where was this one? Theodosia turned with her eyes zeroing in on the ship they just left. So there was five, and they had the group semi surrounded though they were trying to keep to the crew's back.

"Leave the treasure and depart this place at once." The voice continued. "If you do not, the curse of the dead will fall upon you all! Obey my words or face the consequences."

Usopp whimpered while backing up towards Theodosia to grab onto the skirt of her dress like a child looking to his mother for comfort.

"I'm scared." Usopp said.

Theodosia wanted to tell him there was no reason to be, but she didn't want to let this group know that she was already onto them. They might flee if she does meaning she might not be able to get her hands on at least one to get answers.

"Who's there?" Luffy asked after jumping onto the railing to stand on it.

After asking ghosts appeared on the ship a few to the right from them, which had Usopp screeching out of fright.

"Ghosts!" Usopp cried.

Theodosia it was more like sheets on strings, or something close to that. If these children thought they could scare her, they were sadly mistaken.

"Now, hand over the treasure nice and easy." The voice continued. "If you do not—!"

He didn't finish his sentence since an arrow was let loose and sent right towards the crew. Theodosia acted quickly while catching it before it could hit Zoro in the head. She held up the arrow while snapping it in half.

"Since when did ghosts have to use weapons of the physical world?" Theodosia asked as she threw the last of the arrow to the side.

She sensed unrest amongst those presences she felt, but before she could question more, Luffy let out an angered shout.

"Why you!" He yelled. "You almost killed Zoro!"

Luffy shot out his arm that stretched out far, so his hand could hook something to send him flying towards the ghosts. He stretched out his arms far as if he was trying to take them all out at once.

"Rotten Ghost Captain!" Luffy shouted.

He managed to take the ghosts down quickly while flipping the sheets, so everyone could see inside.

"There's nothing inside the sheets!" Usopp said then started freaking out. "They're really ghosts!"

"No, more like puppets on strings." Theodosia said.

"And the arrow came from that direction." Robin added.

She looked over to the open window where Theodosia has sensed the one presence, and both women saw someone move.

"What?" Usopp asked in surprised then suddenly produced a megaphone out of nowhere. "Hey, Luffy, over here! Luffy, can you hear me?! There's someone over there! Look! Luffy, pay attention!"

Luffy wasn't paying attention, however, as he kept inspecting the sheets on strings.

"Luffy, come on, now!" Usopp shouted.

"There's a bow." Robin said spotting it.

Usopp looked as well with everyone seeing that the person in the shadows was taking aim at Luffy.

"Look out, Luffy!" Usopp shouted even louder.

Luffy didn't seem to hear as he gave a soft tug to the string he had found. The arrow was let loose, and just when it seemed as if it'd pierce Luffy, an arm sprouted from the back of his shoulder to grasp it. Luffy finally noticed it while not seeming too bothered at the fact that he was almost killed.

"Luffy." Usopp murmured while glad he was alive.

The one who tried to hit Luffy with the arrow leaned forward in shock at Robin's stunt, which revealed he really was a child. Luffy then tugged hard on the strong to send the ghosts' puppet master falling from the crow's nest. He had a tight grip on the rope in his hand, and managed to swing over the Going Merry. Usopp was quick to act as he brought out his slingshot.

"Special Attack: Fire Star!" He shouted.

He fired a flaming star at the rope, which made it snap in half the second it started burning. This sent the child falling into the water beside the Going Merry. The group went to look over the side of the ship as the kid surfaced.

"Huh, what's this?" Usopp asked.

Theodosia sensed the two presences in hiding finally moving, which had her turning to face them as they moved forward.

"Jerks!" A young blonde shouted as he jumped down onto the Going Merry.

"No wait, Rongo!" A young girl shouted as she followed after the boy.

She restrained him before he could attack the group who weren't too frightened by his presence. Though Henzo did take in a sharp breath as he looked at the two.

"Where's Akibi?!" Rongo demanded.

"Rongo, you need to calm down." The girl said.

Rongo just continued to glare at the pirates as Theodosia looked them over. What were children doing in a place like this?

"Hey, look," Usopp began as he started towards the kids. "It's just a couple of kids—!"

He was cut off when Rongo kicked his…family jewels leaving Usopp in pain on the deck. Rongo ran past the pirates to look through the railing down at his friend.

"Akibi!" Rongo shouted down at him.

"Go! Run!" Akibi ordered.

Rongo didn't move, but the girl was quick to pull the sword he was holding from its sheath to point at the pirates. Theodosia's brow quirked wondering if this girl even knew how to use a sword.

"If you're going to threaten us with that, I hope you know how to use it." Theodosia said.

Before the girl could retort, Theodosia easily drew one of her hooked towards on a flash while using the curved back end of the sword to knock the weapon from the young girl's hand. She winced clutching her hand as the sword she had been wielding went up into the air. It came falling back downwards to the girl who gasped thinking it was going to hit her. However, Theodosia caught it with ease then handed it to Samba who was still on her shoulder loyally.

"Swords aren't anything to play with." Theodosia said to the girl who looked at her with wide eyes. "What if you hurt yourself?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at Theodosia about to snap at her, but she was hit by Luffy who used his devil fruit abilities to get back on the ship.

"Yo!" He said standing straight as if he didn't just knock someone over.

"Welcome home, Captain." Theodosia greeted. "Did you have fun while you were away?"

Luffy just grinned then looked at Robin to thank her for the save. As she said he was welcome, Rongo looked at them with wide eyes. These pirates were dangerous…and scary.

"Rongo!" The girl shouted at him to snap him out of it.

Rongo didn't move an inch as he started up at Luffy in fright as if the straw hatted captain scared him.

"That's enough!" the voice from earlier shouted.

Theodosia and the others turned seeing another child. He had blonde hair and a tanned skin tone, and seemed to be holding a small metal ball in his hands.

"We're the Pumpkin Pirates, and Ape Concert is our territory!" He declared. "And you're all trespassing! Now drop the treasure and let go of my friends unless you wanna die today!"

"A bomb?" Luffy murmured when he saw the metal ball as well.

Theodosia frowned wondering if this kid was really to play with his life like he is. Or if he was certain is life would be okay?

"Rapa Nui!" The girl exclaimed looking relieved.

Henzo seemed even more shocked than before, but no one really paid him any attention since their eyes were on this Rapa Nui fellow who held the bomb.

"Hey, uh, you do realize if you do use that, you'll blow us all up." Usopp said.

"We're all together in the same boat here!" Rapa Nui said. "We live and die together no matter what!"

He jumped down onto the ship while stepping forward as he held the bomb out in front of him.

"Come on." He said.

"Thanks, Rapa Nui." The girl said then looked behind her. "Hey!"

Rongo nodded before running over to this group with no one trying to stop him from going.

"Rapa Nui, it's really you." Henzo said while stepping forward.

This had the Straw Hats looking at him curiously as he was looking at the children as if he was actually seeing ghosts.

"You too…Isoka and Rongo." Henzo continued. "All of you are really here. Can't you see? It's me! We always used to play together on Cape Ruluka. It's me Henzo!"

Once saying his name, recognition appeared in Rapa Nui's face as he looked at Henzo.

"Henzo?" Rapa Nui asked.

"You know this guy?" Luffy asked.

Henzo didn't really reply as he walked forward towards the three children in front of them.

"Henzo, but there's no way." Isoka said looking confused.

"It's not true." Rapa Nui said. "It's not possible."

Well, Theodosia could understand the confusion. If these were the friends Henzo mentioned fifty years ago, they should all be old like him. However, they aren't, so perhaps time moved here differently. If that was the case, these children will feel as if no time at all has moved, and be confused to see their friend so old.

"Stay back!" Rapa Nui shouted at the approaching Henzo. "I'll blow us all up! I'm warning you! Stop it!"

Henzo just calmly started reaching towards the button on top, and sense Theodosia's haki wasn't warning her of his actions, she remained in place.

"Get back now!" Rapa Nui yelled.

Henzo pressed the button anyway with the group being blinded by a bright light that came from the device. Once it cleared, everyone realized they were okay. Theodosia looked back towards the "bomb" to see it had popped open with a small Jolly Rodger popping up.

"It's the Kaboom Mark 3." Henzo said. "I did invent the thing after all. It's just a gizmo you can use to trick your opponents."

It was silent for a long moment before Rapa Nui threw the gizmo down to cause a smoke screen.

"Ack! Damn, it's a smoke screen too!" Usopp shouted as the smoke cleared.

There was then a yawn, which had the group turning back towards Zoro who they had actually forgot was here for a moment.

"Hey, guys, what's with all the noise?" Zoro asked.

"Wait!" Usopp snapped. "You slept through all of it?!"

Zoro just blinked as he turned his head towards Henzo who he hasn't had the pleasure of meeting yet.

"Huh? Who's the weird guy?" Zoro asked.

"That's going to take a long time to explain, so hang on, Sleeping Beauty." Usopp deadpanned.

Zoro gave him a confused look before looking around to see Theodosia, Luffy, and Robin were all here as well. Where was Wren, that devil woman Nami, Chopper, and the ero-cook?

"Hey, the other ones are gone too." Luffy commented. "What happened? Who were those kids?"

Henzo didn't answer at first, which had everyone looking at him curiously as he remained silent.

"Hello, Pops." Luffy said.

As he continued not to speak, Theodosia and Robin exchanged a small glance. They felt like there was a long back story to all that is happening here. Perhaps Henzo could be the one to shed some light on the subject. Theodosia just hoped that Wren was alright along with the others back in the outside world.

* * *

"This man is annoyingly persistent." Wren said as she stood with the others.

After realizing the Going Merry was gone, she and the others tried to find a way to avoid Lake and his men, so they could take a moment to regroup. However, the persistent man managed to hunt them down without fail.

"I couldn't have said it better than myself, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he stood in front of her and Nami.

"Oh, stop your whining." Lake said as he smirked. "And let's finish this."

He raised his arm to use his Rolling Thunder attack, which had Wren going to grasp her sword. However, Sanji made sure she was firmly in between the ladies and Lake. Then before Lake could attack he was hit from the side by a coin that was strong enough to send him crashing to his side. As the others gasped, Wren looked quickly to the side while sensing a fleeing presence.

"Lake, sir!" One of his men gasped. "Are you going to be alright, sir?"

As the presence got farther away Wren blinked in confusion. Who just helped them? And why? Lake finally pushed himself off the ground while glaring over at the pirates.

"Are you the ones who threw that at me?!" He demanded as he used the metal arm to point at it.

Wren tilted her head wondering if someone could really be that stupid. It had obviously come from a different direction than from where they were standing.

"It wasn't us." Sanji said.

"Shouldn't he know that?" Nami asked as she placed her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "He was watching us."

"With that suit on we don't want to make him mad." Chopper added frowning.

Wren stroked the side of his neck to calm him, which it slightly did as he leaned into her touch.

"Tell me now!" Lake shouted. "Was it you who did this?!"

"And what if we say it was?" Sanji asked.

Lake's reply was to silently pick up the coin to place inside his suit's pocket safely.

"You're just picking it up?!" Wren's crewmates demanded.

Wren said nothing as she continued to watch this silliness continue while Lake turned towards them.

"Alright then." He said. "I've collected your harbor taxes. Now that you all have paid, I formally welcome you here to the Town of Ruluka."

As the others looked confused, Wren let out a slight sigh while not looking impressed in the slightest.

"A 500 beli coin was all it took." Wren said. "If we had just handed it over, we wouldn't have had to deal with this eyesore."

Lake just grinned not seeming to notice or care that Wren had just insulted him so bluntly. This really was a strange fellow.

* * *

"Ape's Concert?" Sanji asked. "Is that what you said?"

Lake nodded his head as the four Straw Hats stood around him and his men who seemed exhausted. Lake had taken off his suit once they had paid, and told the group about Ape's Concert and their friends.

"Yeah," Lake said. "Ape's Concert. That's right."

Wren has heard a small bit about the place from hearsay of sailors who wish to find this place that is supposedly full of gold. Of course, Doflamingo never had any interest in it, and dismissed it as a useless fairy tale. Besides, why go after treasure that might not exist when he clearly was making very real money doing what he was doing?

"Some of our soldiers reported that they saw your ship entering the Rainbow Mist." Lake said. "There's no doubt about it. According to what the Mayor says, there's all sorts of treasure piled up in there."

"Treasure?!" Nami squealed.

Wren sighed already knowing the navigator was already thinking about going after their crewmates to get some of the treasure for herself. However, Wren was more concerned with how to get their crewmates out safe and sound.

"People also say that Ape's Concert is a ship's graveyard." Lake continued. "All the shipwrecks in there apparently have tons of untouched cargo just laying around. Jewels, coins, and stuff. The mayor wants the treasure, so he's got a scientist named Henzo researching a way to get into Ape's Concert. And it was the old scientist guy who made the suit for me, uh-huh. It's a pretty slick weapon don't you think?"

He let out a slight laugh as Sanji and Chopper exchanged a look while sweat-dropping.

"Sanji, is it just me, or does he talk a lot?" Chopper asked.

"He does." Sanji agreed. "It's like he's still trying to punish us for not paying."

Chopper nodded in agreement, but then he and Sanji looked towards Wren who chuckled.

"He certainly is a Chatty Kathy." Wren said. "But I like those kinds of people because it means I get the information I want without having to work for it, and sometimes I learn other interesting things without even having to ask."

Though she will admit that sometimes Chatty Kathy like people could be annoying from time to time. She definitely has to start a conversation with them with as patience as possible, so she tries to avoid anything stressful beforehand.

"We can't just stand still here!" Nami said. "We're going into that mist too! So let's get a move on!"

"Yes, sir, Nami!" Sanji said. "Yes, sir, Nami~"

He kept singing that while dancing around, but Wren grabbed him by his tie to bring him to a halt. He didn't seem to upset since he gave her the same love struck look he always gives. Wren ignored the look as she looked to Nami.

"I agree we need to go in, but more so for the sake of getting our nakama back, Nami-san." Wren said. "But to do that we need to understand the mist more, or we might just all be trapped inside with no means for escape."

Nami frowned because she knew that was true, but they had to go in for the treasu—their friends. Yeah, they had to go in for their friends' sakes.

"Yeah," Chopper agreed. "Because once we go in there's no chance of getting back out."

"This is no time to be scared, Chopper." Nami said. "The treasure is waiting for us!"

"Wha?!" Chopper exclaimed.

Wasn't Nami worried in the slightest about Luffy and the others? They could be in serious danger right now.

"I believe, we have more things to worry about now than besides just trying to get inside Ape's Concert." Wren said getting her friends' attentions. "We have company."

The group turned their heads seeing a group of soldiers carrying a large boxed in sitting area that someone really important would ride in.

"I don't think so." An elderly voice came from the booth. "No one goes into Ape's Concert without my permission."

Sitting in that booth was an elderly man who looked like an older version of Lake.

"Jiichan." Lake greeted the man.

"You idiot!" the elderly man snapped while hitting Lake in the back of the head.

Lake grunted in pain while holding onto his aching head. He didn't understand what he did wrong this time.

"Did he say "Jiichan"?" Nami asked.

"I believe he did." Wren said nodding.

This man who was apparently the grandfather of Lake frowned down at his grandson.

"How many times have I had to tell you, Lake?" The man asked. "You're not to address me as jiichan, do you understand that? I am to be called Mayor Wetton."


	30. Greedy Mayor Wetton

Coco: Hello, everyone, I just wanted to inform you that after this post it might be a while before I post anything for a while. Today I learned my grandfather, who has been in and out of the hospital lately, might just have a few more days until he passes. The doctors say if he continues not eating, there is nothing they can do except make him comfortable for the time he has left. If things don't change by tomorrow, we were told we might have to say our goodbyes. So if you don't hear from me for a while it means he passed, and it might be some time before I post again. I'm sorry since I don't want to let any of you down. But I do hope you like this chapter.

* * *

"Luffy, do you really think it's best to be moving?" Theodosia asked.

She went ignored as Luffy shouted "Onward! Full speed ahead!" with a large excited grin on his face. Theodosia guessed that answered her question. It seemed as if Luffy couldn't remain still for long, but he had did quite well during Henzo's story when the scientist revealed parts of his past to the crew to explain how his friends ended up inside the Rainbow Mist.

"About that," Zoro, who was taking care of his swords, asked. "Are you certain we're moving forward, Luffy?"

"Yeah, I said full speed straight ahead." Luffy replied.

"I don't think that means we're going forward." Theodosia said. "In a place like this it's hard to tell what's going on. It's like being inside my devil fruit in some ways."

And that didn't bother her too much except not going forward meant they weren't getting anywhere, and they needed to get places. Like out of this mist, so to get back to the others as soon as possible.

"Where exactly is it that you're trying to take us?" Henzo asked as he and Robin rejoined the crew.

"Well, we're heading out of the mist, duh!" Luffy said.

"Don't be ridiculous." Henzo said. "Once you enter Ape's Concert, there's no leaving it. This region of the sea isn't like any other you've seen before."

Theodosia understood that, but there had to be some way out of here. Even if there was only the tiniest chance of escape, she'd take it to return to Wren and the others.

"Um, I'm pretty sure we passed that ship just a little while ago." Usopp said drawing Theodosia's attention.

Theodosia walked over to the side to see what he was talking about, and her brow quirked when seeing the statue figurehead. Yes, she was certain she saw it as well.

"Ah, don't worry." Luffy said. "There are a bunch of ships that look alike no matter where you go."

That might be true, but that figurehead was very specific. It had Theodosia wondering if they were really moving at all.

"I don't think so." Robin said as she joined the other two. "That exact same ship was wrecked in the very first place we dropped anchor. I remember seeing the statue of that goddess on the bow."

Usopp started shaking and sweating while looking quite scared at this very moment.

"But what does that mean?" Usopp asked. "We've really come full circle to the exact same place we started from?"

"That's why I asked if you were sure we were going forward earlier." Zoro pointed out.

He had a small frown on his face as he said this, and Theodosia could understand his frustrations. Should she try to comfort him? After all one day they would be—Theodosia quickly ended that thought as her face became scarlet. She shook her head while mentally scolding herself for such thoughts. Samba looked at her mistress curiously while wondering what was wrong.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Zoro asked noticing her red face, but not knowing the cause.

Theodosia jumped when he spoke to her directly then shyly glanced back at him. However, when their eyes met, she quickly looked away. Zoro frowned wondering what all that was about.

"N-nothing!" Theodosia squeaked then shook her head. "So, uh, how can you be so sure we're going straight, Luffy?"

She really wanted to change the subject before she made herself look even more like a fool.

"I'm watching where we're going!" Luffy said laughing.

Theodosia blinked wondering if she heard him right. Just because he's looking forward doesn't mean the ship is going in that direction.

"How could you possibly see which way is straight in all this mist?" Zoro asked slightly irritable.

Though could anyone blame the guy? He was trying to enjoy a nice nap when suddenly all this mess happened, and he wakes up in a place they supposedly can't escape.

"He can't." Robin answered for Luffy.

She then used her devil fruit abilities, which had Theodosia wondering what the woman was planning. Suddenly the cannon fired sending one of the cannonballs high into the sky. This had Theodosia even more confused since she didn't understand what Robin was trying to accomplish. Then suddenly the cannonball that had been sent forward crashed into the water behind the ship, and it was slightly too close for comfort. Water splashed onto the crew due to the impact, and Theodosia frowned since the seawater was making her feel slightly weak.

"What was the point of that?" Zoro asked frowning.

"She shot the cannon forward, but it landed right behind us!" Usopp said in shock.

Yes, and that did make things even more problematic. Now Theodosia was having doubts. Maybe they really couldn't leave.

"As I thought." Robin said.

"The fabric of time and space is distorted here." Henzo added.

"What does that mean?" Zoro asked.

He was really starting to wish someone would speak in a manner that he could understand.

"It's something I remember reading from that book earlier." Robin said. "You see the inside of the Rainbow Mist is twisted around itself like a maze."

Before she could continue her explanation, Luffy stretched himself backwards while wrapping his legs around the mast.

"Now, Gumo-Gumo: Rocket!" Luffy shouted while ignoring Usopp's call for him to wait.

Luffy let go of the mast while shooting forward so far that he couldn't be seen by the others.

"Too late." Usopp asked.

It was silent for a moment on the Going Merry as everyone continued to stare where Luffy disappeared.

"He won't necessarily end up back in the exact location he started from." Henzo said honestly.

"Luffy, you moron." Zoro grumbled.

He really hoped he wouldn't have to go and try to save their idiot captain because he wasn't even sure how to find him. A second later their captain hit the back of the sail before hitting the deck literally. He let out a slight grunt before sitting up with his face slightly reddened from the impact to the sail.

"Okay, I get it know." Luffy said. "It's a mystery mist. No matter which way you go you just end up where you started."

Usopp and Zoro gave him deadpanned expressions while not believing him. They then turned away with frowns on their faces.

"Yeah, that's it. A mystery mist." They deadpanned in unison.

Theodosia was about to add her two cents when she suddenly sensed one of those children again, and he was close. Like right next to the ship close.

"I'm not quite certain you understand it completely." Henzo said.

"Well, we get the part about not being able to get out of here." Zoro retorted.

He didn't need to understand all that other stuff as long as he understood the important stuff like being stuck. Luffy then jumped up onto the higher deck to join the others.

"We don't really have to get out of here anyway." Luffy said. "It's fun."

His words earned him a hit on the head from Zoro, and a strike to the stomach from Usopp. Theodosia was certain those blows didn't really hurt Luffy though considering he's made of rubber.

"There might actually be a way of escape." Theodosia said. "Or perhaps we can at least learn how to navigate the area better, which will lead to discovering a way to escape that no one ever has before."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Henzo asked.

"We could ask your friend—Rapanui." Theodosia said. "After all, he and the rest of your friends have been here for fifty years."

Henzo supposed that was true, and perhaps when they see his friends ago, he can explain more about what's happened since that fateful day twenty years ago.

"And how are we supposed to find them?" Usopp asked.

Theodosia pointed to the side of the ship, or more directly to some of the wreckage beside the ship, which had the others looking that way.

"We ask the little boy trying to hide from us other there." Theodosia said.

The others were confused, but Robin, who had noticed the boy as well, used her devil fruit to push him out into the open. The boy whimpered as Robin and Theodosia who were leaning against the railing looked down at him.

"Now would you be a dear, and take us to wherever your leader is hiding?" Robin asked.

The little boy shook looking frightened of the pirates, but Theodosia smiled kindly at him. She then jumped down to where the boy was, which had him jumping.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." She said gently. "And sorry if we've scared you. We only wish to know how to get out of here, or at least learn how to navigate the area."

The boy was silent though looked less frightened as he looked into Theodosia's kind face.

"My name is Theodosia." She said holding out her hand. "I know it's a mouthful, so you can call me Theo if you wish."

The boy reached forward to shake hands with Theodosia, but he still remained silent. Samba then popped up on her shoulder going "tek-teky-tek" while patting Theodosia on top the head.

"Oh, and this is Samba." Theodosia said lightly laughing at her monkey friend's antics.

Samba jumped onto the boy's shoulder while rubbing her cheek against his in an affectionate manner. He laughed while reaching up to pat Samba on top the head.

"See? We're not so bad." Theodosia said as he looked at her again. "So could you tell us your name?"

The boy seemed hesitant at first, but he slowly nodded his head, which had Theodosia's smile growing.

"My name is Pukau." He said. "Your friend earlier said she wanted to speak to our leader."

"Yes, it would be nice to ask him if he knew of anyway to get out of here, or learn how you all navigate yourselves around here so well." Theodosia said. "It'd be of great help. If it makes you feel better, we'll give back the treasure we've already taken, and not touch another piece. We just want to find a way out of here. I give you my word no harm will be given to you or your friends either."

Pukau stared at Theodosia for a moment before a smile pulled across his face.

"Okay." He said nodding. "I'll take you to our base."

* * *

Theodosia looked on with the others as Pukau directed them to a large marine warship that was more intact than most of the other ships here in Ape's Concert.

"Oh, wow." Luffy, who was hanging upside down from Merry's figurehead, said. "That ship's so cool."

He was sure there were all sorts of cool things inside that ship that he'd love to get his hands on.

"It's a wrecked warship, isn't that right?" Robin asked.

"Yes, but right now it's what we're using as our main hideout." Pukau explained.

Well, Theodosia supposes people whoever stumbled into Ape's Concert wouldn't check a marine warship for pirates. Or pirates wouldn't want to go into a marine warship. Wrecked or not. Theodosia then looked up calmly when she sensed a very loud presence that was roaring with anger heading their way. Rapanui, who had a sword in hand, jumped down from his perch to head for them.

"Cowards!" He snapped as he landed on the Going Merry. "Just let Pukau go!"

He drew his sword, which had Theodosia shaking her head. These kids really needed to stop playing with such dangerous weapons if they didn't know how to handle them properly.

"What is he talking about?" Luffy asked out of confusion.

"Shut-up." Rapanui growled.

He went to take a slice at Luffy, but the young captain easily dodged. Though he had to stretch his arm down to grab his treasured hat.

"Let him go now!" Rapanui said as he glared up at Luffy.

Luffy, who was now standing on top of Merry's figurehead, just silently placed his hat back on top his head as he stared down at Rapanui.

* * *

Wren had a slight frown on her face as she stood with the others on the dock. After being taken into "custody", Wren has learned more about this Rainbow Mist. It was certainly sounding like an intriguing place. A place full of money and riches, but not just that. It was also a place where people are said to never be able to get out. However, it seems as if something has come out of the mist, and it was a large galleon that looked as if it was a model from fifty years ago if not a bit more. Of course, Wren didn't know her ships that well, so she could be wrong. As the ship was being brought in by a few smaller ships, Wren wondered how the ship got out of the mist, and if they could get their friends out the same way.

"Oh, my dear old ship has returned at last." Wetton said.

"But, Grandpa, I don't understand." Lake said. "Why is the ship returning after all this time away?"

His reply was a fist being hit over his head, which had him wincing and holding his head.

"Hey, I told you to call me mayor, didn't I?" Wetton demanded.

"Yeah." Lake whimpered.

"Look over there." Wetton said pointing.

He pointed to a swirling mist hanging over the ocean that indeed looked like a rainbow with its many colors.

"Fifty years ago, my dear ship disappeared into the Rainbow Mist." Wetton said. "And now that the ship has returned it means that the doorway to Ape's Concert has been opened again at last."

So there was a chance of getting their friends out then? Wren honestly didn't have the time to wait for fifty years for the door to reopen again. So they'd have to work fast to free the others.

"So basically it's now or never if we want to get the treasure from inside Ape's Concert, huh?" Nami asked.

Wren sweat-dropped while looking at Nami. Did she still not understand that their friends were in need of rescuing? They came first. Treasure second in Wren's book.

"Yes, that's right." Wetton said then seemed to realize something. "Wait! How do you know about the treasure?!"

"Ask your Chatty Kathy of a grandson." Wren said simply. "He was kind enough to give us all sorts of information."

Said grandson got a kick in the face by his grandfather who was very spry for a man his age. Of course, he had nothing on Kureha. That woman couldn't possibly be human though.

"Lake, you idiot!" Wetton said. "After everything I said about the treasure being a secret!"

"I'm so sorry, Grandpa." Lake said. "I mean, Mayor, sir."

Wren was actually starting to feel sorry for both men. Lake because of all the abuse, and Wetton because it was obvious that he couldn't trust anyone to keep a secret. Not even his own family.

"It must try one's patience with having such a dimwitted family." Nami said with false sympathy.

Wren, Sanji, and Chopper all nodded in agreement as Wetton let out a few huffs of aggravation.

"You have no idea." Wetton said, but quickly caught on. "Hey, acting sympathetic to earn me won't help you!"

"It was a nice try, Nami-san." Wren said.

Nami just sighed wishing Wetton was a bit dimmer like his grandson. It'd make things easier on them.

"However, you found out about it." Wetton said as he sat back down. "Now that you know the secret of Ape's Concert, I cannot afford to let you leave."

Wetton's men raised their guns to point at the group, which had Wren sighing. Did they not realize who they were messing with? She's be glad to show them.

"You intend to silence us, is that it?" Sanji asked smirking.

"No, but you're going to pay a I-Found-A-Secret Tax." Wetton said grinning. "No less than ten million beries for each of you."

He let out a chuckle as Wren gave him a deadpanned expression. This old codger couldn't be serious.

"You're kidding me!" Sanji snapped.

"That's way too much!" Nami added.

"More to the point, what kind of tax is that?!" Chopper demanded.

Wren just shook her head while knowing there was no way they would be paying such an outlandish tax.

"Are you saying you won't be able to pay?" Wetton asked. "Tax collectors!"

He slammed his cane into the ground, and immediately after that the sound of drums entered the air. Wren and the others looked seeing a small group of soldiers being led by a man, who looked as if he was related to Wetton, appeared.

"You called for me, Mayor Wetton?" The man asked while turning to face and salute the mayor.

"Oh, Daddy." Lake said as he smiled at the man.

"Daddy?" The Straw Hats asked frowning.

What kind of grown man calls their father "daddy"?

"Take these three to the Rainbow Tower, and put them to work doing some real hard labor." Wetton said.

This old man must be really losing it if he thought he could make Wren do hard labor.

"What's a Rainbow Tower?" Sanji asked.

Wetton used his cane to point at the large, long structure Chopper had thought was a lighthouse when they had first arrived here.

"That is the Rainbow Tower." Wetton said. "You will work off your debt at that tower for the rest of your lives. It will be heavy, hellish from morning till night, but don't worry. I doubt you'll live long."

"I must decline." Wren said.

"What?!" Wetton demanded.

Wetton's men looked at Wren as if she was crazy as she calmly looked at the mayor.

"I will not be doing any hard labor for you or anyone else." Wren said. "Especially over such a ridiculous tax that you most likely just made up."

"Do you realize who you're talking to?!" Wetton demanded.

"A greedy, old mayor, who thinks he has some kind of control over my friends and I." Wren replied not missing a beat. "Now, unless you can force us into working on that tower, we won't be doing any labor for you."

Wetton growled in anger wondering how just this woman was. And who was she to tell him the mayor no?! Before he could tell his men to get her and her friends, his son—Phillip—suddenly started speaking.

"Hoho! It looks as if the Rainbow Mist has appeared again, hasn't it, Father?!" Phillip asked. "Now is our chance! We can finally retrieve all our treasure from inside Ape's Concert!"

This family really was incapable of keeping secrets, weren't they? Wren didn't wouldn't want any one of them as one of her informants that was for sure.

"He just gave it all away again." Chopper pointed out.

"Secrets sure don't mean much to them." Sanji commented.

"What a shame." Nami said. "They're three generations of idiots."

"Maybe the fourth generation won't be so bad." Wren said. "As long as Lake can find a partner willing enough to reproduce with."

Of course there was a slim chance of him finding anyone in her opinion, but Wren would keep that to herself.

"You idiot!" Wetton, who was strangling his son, snapped. "Alright, fine. Let's just go ahead and call Henzo, and get him investigating the mist."

"Yes, sir." Lake said. "Get me a den-den mushi right away, alright?"

"Right!" The man said saluting.

* * *

After bringing out a desk, a place to sit, and a den-den mushi, Phillip went to contact this Henzo character. The snail rang a few times as Wren and the others stood off to the side with the guns still trained on them. The den-den mushi went "Kacha!" signally someone had picked it up.

 _"Yep, hi, hello."_ The familiar voice of Luffy came through the snail.

This had the Straw Hats all looking towards the den-den mushi. So their captain was with this Henzo fellow, was he?

 _"What good does it do for you to answer?!"_ The den-den mushi picked up Zoro angered voice in the background.

It seemed as if the entire rest of the Straw Hat crew was together. That had to at least be a plus.

"Well, well, Professor Henzo," Phillip began.

 _"Huh, who is this anyway?"_ Luffy asked.

Phillip looked confused as he stared at the den-den mushi in front of him. Hadn't he realized the second Luffy answered that his voice couldn't match this professor's voice? Of course, Wren has never met the man, so perhaps he and Luffy shared a similar tone of voice.

"What?" Phillip asked. "Wait a second, who are you?"

Before he could get a reply, Sanji snatched the den-den mushi's receiver right out of his hand.

"Hey, Luffy," Sanji spoke into the receiver.

"Where the heck you'd go?!" Chopper asked.

Nami then snatched away the receiver, which nearly pulled the den-den mushi right off the table. The poor thing was doing whatever it could to hold on.

"You guys just went and ran off with the ship?!" She demanded. "You put the rest of us in a kind of sticky situation, ya know!"

Wren then calmly took the receiver from Nami who was steaming mad at the moment.

"Luffy-sama, is everyone with you?" Wren asked. "Theodosia, Robin-san, Zoro-san, and Usopp-san?"

 _"Oh, Wren!"_ Luffy exclaimed. _"Hey! Yeah, everyone is here with me. And we're okay!"_

 _"Okay?! We're stuck here in the mist, stupid!"_ Wren heard Usopp's panicked voice. _"How is that okay?!"_

Well, at least they were all alive. That had to count for something in the least, right?

 _"Wren-sama!"_ Theodosia's voice came through the den-den mushi. _"Sorry for the trouble we've caused."_

Wren lightly chuckled when hearing Theodosia's truly apologetic tone of voice.

"Do not fret over it." Wren said. "Just try to remain calm. We'll find a way to get everyone home safe and sound."

 _"Wait!"_ A new voice Wren didn't know. _"Is this the outside world? Phillip! Phillip, respond! Are you there?!"_

Phillip quickly and rudely snatched the receiver away from Wren to respond to the voice Wren was unfamiliar with.

"Yes, Phillip here!" Phillip said. "Professor Henzo, what's your location now?"

Oh, so the mystery voice belonged to that of Professor Henzo. Perhaps he knew of a way to get everyone back safe and sound.

 _"I'm currently inside the Rainbow Mist."_ Henzo replied.

This had a few shocked, but Wren had already deduced that was where they had to have gone. Luffy wouldn't really leave nakama behind. He wouldn't go too far from them, and if he hadn't returned immediately, it would have to be because he couldn't return to them.

 _"At the moment, I'm afraid we are unable to escape it."_ Henzo confessed. _"Do you think you could perhaps come rescue us? We don't have any time to waste. Someone needs to equip the safety search gear I invented and come get us from inside the mist! And tell Wetton he'll need to double check all of the—!"_

He was suddenly cut off, which had everyone frowning in confusion. Had something happened on their end? Wren honestly hoped it was just a bad connection, which caused them to lose contact with each other.

"Uh, hello." Phillip said into the receiver. "Hello!"

"Well, well, so those guys really did end up in that weird mist after all." Sanji said.

"Well, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised since our captain does have a knack for getting into trouble." Wren said with a small amused grin on her face.

Sanji sighed though supposed that was true, and they would have to go and safe their stupid captain as usual.

"What do we do now?" Chopper asked looking up at Nami.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nami asked. "We go inside the mist."

Wetton, who overheard them, quickly went to tell them no, but didn't realize he was being ignored as Nami turned her attention on Lake.

"Hey there," Nami said flirtatiously. "Where's this safety gear the Professor was talking about?"

Lake grinned broadly then reached down to lift up a small crate to hand over to Nami.

"Oh, here it is." He said.

"Thank-you." Nami said smiling sweetly as she took the crate.

"You have been a wonderful help." Wren added with her lips curved up an alluring smile.

Lake blushed as he scratched the back of his head. Sanji frowned at the redhead before pouting at Wren. Why couldn't she ever give him a smile like that? He was snapped out of his thoughts as Wren grabbed his hand to pull him along as the group started running. He quickly grabbed the rest of the girl's bags while hurrying alongside Wren. He looked down at her smiling face before looking at their joined hands. He grinned while giving her hand a slight squeeze.

"Thanks a lot!" The group called over their shoulders.

Wetton ordered his men after the group, which led to the four pirates being pursued almost instantly.

"And here I was hoping they'd let us run peacefully off into the sunset." Sanji said as he glanced back at them.

Wren just chuckled as the group came to a halt by a small rowboat that could be used to get into the mist. Nami went to prepare the boat as Wren jumped down into it with the crate. The boys put themselves between the girls and the incoming soldiers while setting down the packages they had been carrying. Chopper grew into his heavy point while looking ready to fight.

"Get going, Nami, Wren!" Chopper said.

"Sure thing." Nami said. "Leave Luffy and the others to me. I'll take care of it and the treasure."

She let out a devious chuckle that had Wren shaking her head slightly at the younger woman.

"And to ensure you don't forget our nakama during your treasure hunt, I will be going along with you." Wren said then suddenly stiffened. "We have company. Large company."

Her friends looked at her with wide eyes wondering what her haki was telling her now. They didn't have time to ask since a large sea beast popped up out of the water right behind Wren who was still standing in the boat. It swayed roughly due to the water the sea beast displaced, but Wren kept her footing as she calmly glanced over her shoulder at it.

"Wren!" Sanji called out in worry for the woman.


	31. Theo's Dream

Coco: Hello, everyone, just wanted to let you know that there's going to be a part with Theodosia that I added in here to show how she has her own goal/dreams that don't exactly follow Wren's dreams exactly. Like, Wren's informants have their own dreams, and I want to show that. Also, I can't remember if I mentioned it, but I plan to do side-stories for all the informants (minus Monet), so everyone can get a better feel for them. Not all side-stories will take place during the storyline's time, and not every one of them will be the same length. I just wanted to let you know. And I'll probably hold a poll later to see, which informant you want to learn more about the most. You can even pick ones who haven't made an official debut in the story yet. If you have any questions, just message me or leave a review, and I'll reply as soon as possible.

* * *

The sea beast roared at Wren as Nami fell into the boat due to her shock. Wren looked at the creature evenly while not seeming upset in the slightest.

"Wren-chan, Nami-san, get out of there!" Sanji shouted worried for their safety.

Nami whimpered while reaching for the oars to quickly get out of there while they could. However, she forgot all about the oars when the sea beast hissed while launching forward for an attack. Nami screamed in fright as Chopper and Sanji screamed the girls names thinking it was the end.

"Someone has horrible manners." Wren said calmly as the beast drew closer. "Don't you know it's rude to attack before proper introductions are given?"

The sea beast continued to snarl at Wren as it got closer. However, in a flash, Wren had her sword drawn. Things then seemed to move in slow motion as Wren sliced forward. At least it seemed as if nothing happened as the sea beast came to a halt just inches in front of Wren. No one breathed as they waited to see what happened. When the top of the sea beast's head suddenly slid off its body starting from the top part of its mouth and up, people gasped in shock as the top fell into the ocean creating a splash that went over the people at the shore. The second fell soon sunk beneath the waves as Wren sheathed her sword. Wren brushed her slightly dampened hair back while ignoring how the sea water made her feel slightly weak.

"I believe that takes care of that." Wren said simply then jumped out of the boat. "I believe you can move on, Nami-san."

Wren then glanced over to the side into the shadow of an alley as if she sensed something coming from there. She looked away, however, before her friends noticed.

"Ah, right." Nami said nodding. "Thanks, Wren."

Wren nodded her head then snapped her fingers. Everyone, who didn't know of her powers, jumped when a bat creature appeared perched on the front of the small boat. It honestly looked like any normal bat, but since Wren conjured it, Nami was certain it wasn't.

"This is a Homing Bat." Wren said. "In most parts of the world it is a normal bat with an extreme sense of direction that always leads them back to where they belong. However, after some research was done of the species it has been shown the Homing Bats have a paranormal ability to reach their destination no matter how lost or far from home they get. This means if you get inside the Rainbow Mist, it shouldn't matter if it closes because this creature can bring you back."

"Really?" Nami asked. "That's great! Okay, uh, what am I going to call you? I know! Homer!"

The bat seemed to give Nami and unimpressed look before huffing as it looked away. Nami sweat-dropped guessing it didn't like the name.

"Ignore him." Wren said. "He's always been moody."

Nami nodded taking Wren's word for it before she started rowing off towards the Rainbow Mist.

"I hope she'll be okay." Chopper said looking concerned.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Sanji said as he lit up a cigarette. "Not only does she have one of Wren-chan's creatures with her, but she has that protective gear that professor guy made."

Chopper nodded though still seemed rather nervous about the entire thing. He guesses they'll just have to wait and see what happens.

"I believe we can do something to preoccupy ourselves with until she returns, gentlemen." Wren said.

"Like what?" Chopper asked curiously.

"Oh, I know~" Sanji said as he did this weird little dance. "Wren-chwan and I can go on a romantic dinner date just the two of us~"

Chopper sweat-dropped at the blonde cook as Wren chuckled in amusement at his words. She pet Sanji on top his head, which had him melting.

"Sorry, Sanji-san, but I was thinking something more along the lines of getting rid of a few eyesores that obviously want to get in our way of saving our friends." Wren said.

Sanji and Chopper both blinked before turning to Wetton and his men who were obviously scheming something. Wetton suddenly snapped his fingers, which had Sanji and Chopper on edge. The prior stepped in front of Wren while ready to defend her if necessary.

"What's this?" Sanji asked.

"The Mayor is changing!" Phillip announced loudly as if it was something important.

"Changing what?" Wren asked with a tilt of her head. "Changing his horrible ways? I believe it'd take a miracle for something like that to happen."

"Joke all you want now girl." Wetton said smirking. "Once all this is over, you won't have any humor left in you."

Wren wasn't frightened by his words in the slightest. There's nothing he can try to do that would even phase her. Not after everything she's seen, and not after everything she's been through. Curtains were then pulled to cover Wetton, which had Wren curious about what would happen once the curtains pulled back.

"Oh what now?" Sanji asked not looking forward to what was going to happen.

The curtains pulled back revealing Wetton had his own special suit that was like Lake's. However, there were obvious differences in how they were made. This led Wren to believe that they wouldn't be dealing with electricity this time around.

"Flame suit." Wetton said.

Wren's guessing by the name that her two crewmates and she would be dealing with fire. Well, she always did like a challenge, and this time she wasn't going to hold back. She's been doing that ever since joining the Straw Hats. Never once has she gone all out. Of course, she wasn't going to exactly here. She didn't need to against a small town mayor and his flunkies. However, she definitely wasn't going to be rather merciful either.

"Commence fueling now." A man said as some of the men pumped some machine that seemed to fuel Wetton's suit.

Wren stayed still letting him fuel his little suit since she'd play nice until he was ready. However, if this was a battle she actually felt threatened in, she'd have already cut him down before they could even think to fuel his suit. As they were finishing the preparations for his suit, Wren flipped her hair over her shoulder while stepping past Chopper and Sanji.

"If you're done, I would like to begin." Wren said. "I do not have all day to wait for you to finish fueling your toy."

"You better watch your mouth, girl." Wetton said. "I'll burn your flesh right off your bodies."

Wren didn't seem too concerned. In fact, she became even less concerned when Wetton had trouble raising his arm. The nozzle at the end of his arm then spit out a torrent of fire that had Sanji and Chopper shouting in fright. Sanji went to grab Wren to dodge, but she just ran towards the flames.

"Wren, no!" Sanji shouted.

He was then shocked as everyone else was when Wren whipped out her sword while cutting towards the sea. However, what was most surprising was how Wren's slashing attack seemed to bend the water how she wanted. The water hit the flames putting them out.

"How in the world?!" Wetton demanded. "How did you do that?!"

"It is just a bit of fancy swordplay." Wren said. "Taught to me by a pirate turned gladiator. He was quite the instructor when he wasn't trying to kill me in the colosseum."

She was sure the old man was still there now winning battles and showing the "youngsters" how real swordplay is. Of course, they aren't friends. She is very much his enemy. Or was when she was part of Doflamingo's crew. However, they did have many battles while in the colosseum, and that's where Wren picked up a few of his tricks. So perhaps saying he taught her was a bit of a stretch.

"I am on a different level than most pirates you've had come to your little town." Wren said. "I am a pirate of the New World. The people here in Paradise know me as a monster. A true devil. Do you still like your chances of winning?"

The men, even Wetton himself looked frightened as they looked at Wren who was looking at them coldly in return. She started walking towards them, which had them stiffening.

"I will admit I have been holding back ever since leaving Doflamingo's crew." Wren said as she drew closer. "The only time I really used any effort was during my brief encounter with Crocodile. And while I'm sure it won't take much against you and all your men, I assure you that this time I will show no mercy if you get in our way of trying to save our friends. Do you understand me, Mayor Wetton?"

Wren, who stopped right in front of the elderly man, looked him right in the eye as he was sweating profusely. He then grit this teeth deciding he wouldn't let this girl sway him.

"You think you scare me?!" He asked. "Just who do you think you are?"

Wren smirked while taking a small step back to give a formal curtsey to Wetton and his men.

"Forgive me," Wren said. "I have been rude, haven't I? Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Saturn Wren. You may know me better as the Princess of Horrors, or perhaps the Nightmare Witch. I would say pleased to meet your acquaintance, but that would be a lie. "

It was silent for a moment as Wren raised her head to continue smirking at the men who seemed to be letting her words sink in. As they finally started to looks of fear quickly appeared on their faces.

"Saturn Wren?!" Most of the men shouted while jumping backwards.

Wetton, Phillip, and Lake all took a step backwards while looking at Wren in shock.

"I see you'v1e heard of me." Wren said with an amused chuckle. "Now are we all ready to play nice and get along?"

* * *

Theodosia let out a sigh as she continued looking for Luffy. Things were going so good and coming together when he and Rapanui disappeared into the mist. She, Zoro, and Usopp all went looking for him, but didn't find a tress of Luffy or Rapanui at all.

"I suppose we better return to the Going Merry." Theodosia said.

"Teky-teky." Samba replied from her perch on a broken mast.

She jumped down on it to land on Theodosia's shoulder as the young gypsy turned away from the wreckage. She went to leave, but something caught her eye. It was a large galleon ship that reminded her of the one the Tenryuubito traveled on. She narrowed her eyes realizing it was a Tenryuubito galleon. What was it doing here in the Rainbow Mist? Theodosia glanced back towards where the others and the Merry were before looking back to the galleon.

"It wouldn't hurt to explore it for a bit." Theodosia said. "Samba return to the others."

Samba nodded her head obediently before she hopped off of Theodosia's shoulder. The monkey hurried away back to the Going Merry as Theodosia headed towards the galleon. She hopped from wreckage to wreckage before landing on the galleon. She looked around for any sign of life with one of her hands resting on the hilt of the sword. She knew Rapanui and the others said they were the only people here, but one could never be too careful. She cast out her haki to search the ship for life, but found none, which had her relaxing partially. However, she still remained tense after finding herself on a ship like this. It just brought back bad memories.

 _"Who said you had permission to cry?!"_

Theodosia flinched just remembering the blow that came after that question was asked her.

 _"You don't have the right to be happy in front of me! Your only purpose in life, **Pet** , is to make me happy! To make me laugh! You are my jester, my little fool! Now dance and make me laugh!"_

Theodosia put her arms around herself remembering her cruel mistress. St. Chamomile was the daughter of St. Roswald, and always wanted to be laughing and happy. And what made her happy was making those she deem lesser than herself miserable and making them suffer. While Theodosia technically belonged to St. Roswald himself, the older Tenryuubito allowed his youngest daughter to _play_ with Theodosia often. It was even Chamomile who forced the devil fruit down Theodosia's throat.

Theodosia shook her head to clear her head because she didn't wish to think of her years as a slave. She was lucky to be saved from that life. After Theodosia collected herself, she continued on with her search. She went inside the galleon while looking around. She wasn't sure what she was really looking for. Maybe for something that would tell her the reason why a Tenryuubito would come here. Maybe for the treasure rumored to be inside. Not that they need any more treasure. Maybe they wanted to claim the entire territory for themselves. That actually sounded more plausible.

Of course, they'd want to claim something where many people have failed. They'd want to be the first ones to do so, but it seems as if they failed. Theodosia searched through the rooms finding nothing in them at first. However, after reaching the room that obviously belonged to the Tenryuubito, she saw treasure hoarded inside the room over in the corner. She frowned while continuing to look around. She went over to the desk in the room finding an opened book that looked like a journal or a log of some sort. It had a date written on the top that was a little after she had become a slave. A few months actually.

Theodosia picked up the log while reading the lines. With every line she read, she felt her anger grow. After she was done reading it, she slammed the log book down with her hand going to clench one of her hooked swords tightly. She drew it then the other one while knowing exactly where to put this ship. In the bottom of this strange ocean to never be seen again.

* * *

"Theo, sure has been gone for a long time." Usopp said as Samba rested on his shoulder. "I wonder what's taking her."

Zoro didn't comment as he sat on the railing with an unreadable expression on his face. She was taking a long time. He hoped that woman didn't get herself in any trouble.

"I hope she isn't lost like Rapanui and Luffy." Henzo said. "If she's beyond the mist as well, we might never see her again.

Zoro sighed while getting down from the railing. He supposed there was only one thing to do now.

"I'll go find her." Zoro said. "She's probably just off exploring."

"Or gathering treasure." Usopp added.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound in the air that had the group gasping as a large chunk of wood could be seen flying into the air not far from it. It came crashing down with the sound of wood splintering following.

"What was that?!" Usopp asked.

Zoro narrowed his eyes noticing that piece of wood that had flew into the air earlier looked as if it had been cut, but the cut was curved, so not by a regular sword. What was that woman destroying? And with so much anger obviously behind her swings? Zoro jumped over the railing surprising the group as he hurried towards where the loud sounds were coming from.

"Zoro, where are you going?!" Usopp called out after him.

Zoro didn't reply as he kept moving. The only one to watch him go passively was Robin who had a hunch it was Theodosia causing the damage, and she was sure Zoro knew that too.

"What did she see that made her so angry?" Robin asked herself.

Zoro kept running on while finally making it to the ship across from the galleon that was being destroyed. He stopped watching as the galleon was cut up even more piece by piece. It wasn't like when Hawkeye cleaning sliced Don Krieg's ship in half. Theodosia was hacking away at this ship just trying to make it disappear. Said woman came out of the galleon once it started sinking below the surface. She was holding a book in one hand and what looked like branding iron in the other. She looked towards Zoro already seeming to know he was there, and his eyes widened partially when seeing the tears. Theodosia then just silently jumped over to the ship he was on as the galleon kept sinking.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zoro asked.

Theodosia just gently pushed the book against his chest while keeping her head down.

"Last page." She murmured.

Zoro's brow quirked, but he opened the book to the last page. He started reading over it with his eyes widening as he read.

"What?" Zoro asked. "He…"

"For every second he didn't get to leave the noble killed off his slaves to deal with his boredom." Theodosia said as she looked at the branding iron in her hands. "He wasn't even sure how much time had flowed, but he made sure to _entertain_ himself while he was here. He then had his remaining men collect treasure, so he would have money to buy more slaves the next time he went to the auction house."

Zoro shook his head slightly while not believing anyone could be so inhumane. That anyone could treat their fellow man like this.

"I knew the Tenryuubito who wrote the log." Theodosia said. "I met him once at the auction house when he accompanied my masters to the auction. He had bought a slave that became one of my only friends during my time as a slave. I remember being told that St. Marcus and all his slaves and servants all disappeared one day. I never saw that friend again, and had no idea what happened to him…until now."

Theodosia then threw the branding iron away as she dried her tears. She started walked back towards the Going Merry with Zoro watching her.

"Every time I am reminded of my life as a slave, the mark on my back burns." Theodosia said. "It reminds me that if Wren-sama hadn't saved me, I could have died as some unknown, uncared about lesser human. But what bothers me most of all is the fact there are still so many people who have to not only wear this mark, but go through slavery to those rich nobles who think they are better than the rest of us."

Zoro remained silent not uttering a word as Theodosia kept her back towards him. Theodosia glanced over her shoulder to look at him.

"I will free them." She said in determination. "I will free all the slaves and end slavery once and for all. Even if I have to take on the entire world to do so. Even if I must bring down the government and the Tenryuubito, will end it all."

Zoro said nothing again at first before his lips turned up into a slight smirking-grin.

"That's a pretty big ambition." Zoro said. "Almost bigger than becoming the World's Number One Swordsman. Think you can pull it off?"

"I will." Theodosia said without any hesitation. "Before I leave this life no one will ever again have serve another man or woman against their will. No one will ever have to think themselves lower than the person next to them."

"Well, if you're going to do that, first we have to get out of here." Zoro said as he headed towards the ship. "Which means we can't get any more separated than we already are, so let's go back to the others."

Theodosia nodded her head before following after Zoro. However, she paused for a moment, which had the swordsman glancing back at her.

"What's wrong now?" He asked.

"I sense Nami." Theodosia said looking up at him. "Nami's presence suddenly entered the Rainbow Mist."

"Nami?" Zoro asked witch a quirked brow. "How did that she-devil get here?"

* * *

"More tea, Wren-sama?" One of the guards asked.

Wren nodded her head as she sat at a table the men had brought out at her order. Then after getting them to make her some tea, she sat down with Chopper and Sanji who were now being served tea. The guard poured more tea for the former princess who picked up the cup to take a sip.

"Hmm, this favor isn't completely unappealing, but it does lack something." Wren said with a slight frown. "Actually, I think it was just over steeped."

Sanji nodded in agreement as he frowned down at the tea he had in hand with a critical eye. Chopper, who was in his smaller form now, just continued to munch on the sweet cakes that were brought with the tea as well.

"You're given tea and cake after all you've done and you still complain?!" Phillip asked.

He shut up immediately though as Wren cut her gaze towards him with her red eye narrowed.

"I believe you and your men have caused us trouble as well." Wren said keeping a civil tone. "Now let's all try to relax as we wait for Nami-san's return with the others in tow. Let's start with bringing better tea. I tend to get…testy if I don't get a proper tea time."

She gave a slight smile as she said this that had the men gulping and leaning away. That smile might look angelic, but it was coming from a demon—a complete and utter devil. The men then jumped to attention while quickly collecting the tea.

"Yes, ma'am, right away!" They said bowing to her.

Chopper then tugged on Wren's sleeve, which had her glancing down at the young doctor. His eyes silently asked her something, and she smiled while nodding her head.

"We also need milk for our dear doctor." She added. "Don't forget that."

"Right, right!" They said nodding nervously before running.

After they ran away to get more tea that would satisfy both Wren and Sanji, Wren let out a slight sigh.

"Nami-san is taking her time, isn't she?" Wren murmured as she leaned in her chair with her head resting on Sanji's shoulder.

Sanji practically giggled merrily at the action while reaching out to place his larger hand over her dainty one that was resting on the arm of the chair. Wren allowed it even when Sanji cupped her hand with his thumb brushing against her knuckles.

"It's like the date I wanted~" Sanji cooed before his mood doing a complete 180. "But you bastards are here, so it's not as romantic."

He glared at Wetton and his men while not really minding Chopper's presence since Chopper is nakama. Also Chopper was just silently and happily gorging himself, so it wasn't like he was bothering them.

"There is no reason to get so worked up, Sanji-san." Wren said lifting her head to look up at him. "Just try to relax before you blow a fuse."

She pat his hand with her free hand, which had him relaxing, and his mood doing another 180 again.

"Anything for you, my dear!" Sanji said.

Wren shook her head as she chuckled while still not understanding Sanji sometimes. Though she did find him amusing. No one has made her smile like he does in such a long time. In some ways, his ridiculousness reminded her of Corazon from time to time. Though Corazon never came off as a love struck fool. He just came off as foolish sometimes with how he acted. Though Wren knew he mostly acted in such a way to keep hers and Law's spirits high.

As the three pirates continued to relax, Wetton growled not believing he had to put up with this. It was ridiculous. He should just have them killed and get it over with. However, the power coming from Wren was scary to say the least. He knew she was a threat, and that she could have him and his men all dead in the matter of seconds. It wouldn't be a problem at all for her. Which means he has to plan his moves very carefully if he wants to get rid of these eyesores and claim the treasure for himself. And Wetton was sure he thought of a way to at least get rid of these three.

"Wren-sama, we have the tea!" Wetton's men said as they hurried back.

They quickly poured and Sanji some tea while hoping it was to their liking this time. Wren took a whiff of the aroma.

"It has a sweeter aroma at least." She said as she brought the cup close to her lips, which had Wetton smirking.

She was about to take a sip when she suddenly moved the tea away from her while dropping the cup to the ground to let it shatter, which made things go silent.

"Don't think you can poison me." Wren said as she stood up taking her hand from Sanji. "It's been tired before. And do you know what I did to the last people who tried that?"

As she reached for her eyepatch, Wetton and his men cowered while wondering what she had planned. Chopper was even shaking at how scary Wren was being as Sanji stood behind her with his eye set in a glare. They were going to poison Wren? He'd beat the living hell out of them. However, before Wren could punish them, she paused while looking towards the mist.

"The bat is returning." Wren said. "However, Nami-san isn't the one it's bringing back."

"What?!" Chopper and Sanji asked in shock.

* * *

Coco: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also I'd like to remind you of the SBS corner. Please send in your questions! I'd love to hear them once after this arc, I will answer them XD


	32. Out of the Mist

Coco: Hello, everyone! Feels like forever since I posted anything on this story, but here's a chapter. And the next one is nearly finished. In the next chapter, The Ruluka Island Arc will be over, and that is when the SBS will be, so if you have any questions send them in with this chapter, please. Also, in the next chapter, I'm going to start a small mini arc that will be only a chapter and a half at the most. It's just going to be Wren and Zoro bonding through some training since I want to show how Wren fits in with the Straw Hats, so this will be one of many mini arcs that reflects her place with her crewmates.

* * *

Wren stood at the dock with the others as a rowboat was drawing closer to the dock. It was the very rowboat that Nami had left in, and "Homer" was at the front of the boat leading the person in the boat back to shore.

"He and I are going to have a stern talk when he finally reaches the dock." Wren said as she shook her head. "Sometimes monsters and their moods is like dealing with children."

It made her want to never have children. Not that she planned to live long enough to have children or even get married. The boat finally made it to the shore with a man with long brown hair and broad shoulders sitting in the boat that had some jewels and riches inside. The man stood while quickly stepping in front of Lake to salute him.

"Sorry to be away so long." He said. "I'm Reigning Captain Ian. I'm very pleased to see you, Captain Wetton. You're looking even better than ever."

Wren tilted her head curiously wondering why this man would refer to Lake as Wetton. She then shook her head because she didn't have time to deal with that man. She had a bat to talk to. She stepped forward with Wetton's men jumping to get out of the way.

"The man you wish to speak with is over there, sir." Wren said as she pushed the Ian guy out of her way and towards Wetton.

"Wha?!" He stuttered as he stumbled to the side.

Wren ignored him and Wetton as the old mayor explained he was indeed Wetton. Wren looked down at the bat on the boat while holding out her arm. The unwantedly named Homer hung his head knowing he was in trouble. However, he did leave the boat to fly onto Wren's arm as Sanji and Chopper gathered around.

"Now, I know you have eyes in your head and a brain between your ears." Wren said. "So I know you couldn't have mistaken him for Nami-san. Care to explain where she is, and why you didn't return with her instead?"

Homer started chittering while moving his wings like a person might do with their hands while talking. As he spoke, Wren and Chopper both nodded along since they understood. Sanji just stood there frowning since he'd like for someone to tell him what the bat was saying.

"So there are others besides our crewmates in the mist." Wren said. "One being this Ian fellow."

Homer nodded his head then continued to chitter away as he waved his wings about animatedly.

"There was Ian-san and five children with our crewmates." Wren continued. "Ian-san had taken one of the children hostage, and threatened to hurt him if not worse. The girl had threatened Nami-san to stay on board the Going Merry as she got the rowboat ready for Ian-san."

Homer nodded again as Sanji and Chopper both listened carefully. Well, Chopper continued to listen to Homer, who went back to chittering, as Sanji listened to Wren.

"I understand the situation." Wren said. "However, I see no hostage. So, please explain that."

Homer paused for a moment while using his wing to rub the back of his head. He then looked to the side like a child unable to meet its mother's gaze. He chittered something softly, but Wren seemed to catch it.

"So the children had managed to get away before you even left the mist with Ian-san." Wren said. "Then why didn't you turn around to retrieve the others?"

Homer was quiet again for a moment as he kept his eyes looking anywhere at Wren. He chittered once again with Chopper gasping not believing his words. Wren just sighed as she shook her head.

"I see." Wren said. "You didn't want to put up with the hassle, so you left not caring who was in the rowboat at the time."

Homer slowly nodded his head as Sanji and Chopper were both gapping in disbelief by now.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Sanji snapped. "So Nami-san and Robin-chan are now stuck inside the mist?!"

"So are Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp, ya know!" Chopper pointed out.

Sanji didn't care about those losers. He just wanted Nami and Robin back safe and sound. He turned towards Wren to ask what they were going to do, but paused when seeing the almost angry look on her face.

"Wren-chan?" Sanji murmured.

Wren sighed then snapped her fingers to send Homer away. There was no point in giving him a lecture. Wren then ignored Sanji as she decided what they must do.

"I suppose we have to go in after them ourselves." Wren said then looked to Wetton. "I am certain you had Professor Henzo come up with a way to safely enter the mist if you ever did find a way in. I mean, one rowboat and one box of safety gear couldn't be the only plan you had to get all of that treasure out of the Rainbow Mist. Furthermore, I am rather certain that _Rainbow_ Tower of yours is the key into the _Rainbow_ Mist."

"You're a smart girl." Wetton said as he looked towards Wren. "And you're right. The Rainbow Tower is the way into the Rainbow Mist, but I will never allow you—!"

Wetton was cut off when Wren, who moved in a flash, punched him right in the gut. He went flying while crashing into the wall behind him, which crumbled slightly.

"Mayor/Jiichan/Captain!" Multiple shouts sounded.

The men turned towards Wren who had a cold look in her eye once again. She turned her eye on them, which had them stiffening.

"I have tried to keep my patience, but it is now very thin—almost nonexistent now." Wren said. "Now prepare the tower to enter the Rainbow Mist. We are bringing the rest of our crew and the Going Merry back."

"Yes, ma'am!" The men shouted and saluted.

"Get moving!" Wren shouted taking on a commander like role.

"Right away, ma'am!" They shouted again while quickly running to get things started.

Wren shook her head feeling a slight headache starting to pulsate in her right temple.

"Wow, Wren!" Chopper said. "You can be really scary when you want to be."

Wren knew that was true. Being scary was a specialty of hers, and she would like to say it wasn't just because of her devil fruit power. When growing up in a family such as the Donquixote Family, one tends to pick up some pretty scary traits.

"Let us prepare to enter the mist." Wren said while going to walk towards the tower. "Our nakama is waiting."

"Right." Chopper said quickly following after her.

Sanji just watched them for a moment as he thought back to Wren's angry expression. Had he been the one to put it there?

"Sanji-san," Wren spoke getting his attention.

Sanji looked up as Wren paused to look back at him while Chopper remained at her side.

"I wish for you and Chopper-chan to remain here while I go in for the others." Wren said. "I don't trust Wetton's men nor do I think Wetton will just give up trying to get inside the mist. So I wish for you two to guard the entrance to the tower."

"Anything for you, Wren-chan." Sanji said as he hurried to catch up to her and Chopper. "But are you sure it's safe for you to go in alone?"

Wren didn't answer at first as she started walking towards the tower that Wetton's men was preparing for her.

"We don't know what's on the other side." Wren said. "However, I will be fine. I will bring the others back safely."

Sanji nodded his head as the group reached the Rainbow Tower. As they stood waiting, the tower started to move with it being lowered towards the water, which had Chopper gasping in shock.

"Amazing!" He said as the tower crashed into the water.

It crashed into the water with the pumpkin top being pushed out by the extending tower to enter the Rainbow Mist.

"Ma'am, the Rainbow Tower as successfully entered the Rainbow Mist!" A soldier said as he came over to salute Wren.

"Good." Wren said while moving towards the tower as the bottom opened up.

It formed a passage way through the hallow tower, which meant she could walk right into the Rainbow Tower. Wren paused at the opening to look at Sanji and Chopper.

"I'm trusting you both to watch the entrance." Wren said.

"Right!" Chopper said as he grew to his heavy point. "You can count on us, Wren."

Wren nodded her head then turned to leave, but Sanji, who had followed her up to the opening, reached out to gently grab her wrist to stop her. She looked up at him curiously.

"Please, be safe, Wren-chan." Sanji said. "And come back."

He looked at her very seriously as he said this because he didn't want her trapped away in the mist to never return.

"I will be fine." Wren said nodding. "I shall return safely and with the others as well, I promise."

Sanji slowly nodded his head before reluctantly releasing Wren's wrist, so she could go. She headed into the tower alone since she didn't trust any of Wetton's men to follow her. Sanji then placed himself in front of the entrance as Chopper came to join him.

"Well, Chopper, let's make sure not to disappoint, our fair lady." Sanji said as he lit up another cigarette. "No one's getting past us to go after Wren, understand?"

He then took a drag from his cigarette before blowing a puff of smoke out into the air.

"I've got it, Sanji." Chopper said nodding as he cracked his knuckles.

* * *

Theodosia looked at the odd pumpkin looking top of the "Rainbow Tower" as Wetton called it as it opened up to reveal a long tunnel.

"So, Wetton, you've finally come." Henzo said with narrowed eyes.

Theodosia blinked when a familiar presence hit her that had her leaning forward to peer into the tower. Footsteps could be heard clicking inside the large tower meaning the person had to be hearing heels of some sort. Everyone was then showed as Wren appeared at the end of the tower.

"Sorry, but as you can see I am not Mayor Wetton." Wren said with a smirk and bow of her head. "Saturn Wren at your service. I have come to collect my crew, and anyone else who wishes to leave to rejoin the rest of us in the outside world."

"Wren!" Usopp and Nami exclaimed happily. "We're not stuck in here after all!"

They were so happy to hear that. It meant they could finally go home, and since Wren seems to the same as they left her, Usopp knows fifty years hasn't passed. Usopp then blinked with a thought coming to mind. Or fifty years has passed, and Wren looks the same because she really is the devil. As if knowing what he was thinking, Wren chuckled with her smirk widening, which had him sweat-dropping.

"Wren-sama, I'm so happy to see you!" Theodosia said as she waved her arms around.

"It's nice to see all of you as well." Wren said. "Now what do you say to going home?"

"Yes, please!" The children on the Going Merry exclaimed.

They've been here too long and it was time to go back to Ruluka where they belonged.

"But, Wren, how are we going to fit the Going Merry through that tunnel?" Usopp asked. "She's too big."

"Don't worry, Usopp." Nami said as she pat Usopp on the shoulder. "With how much treasure is around here, we can buy a new ship once we leave the Going Merry for the outside world."

She looked at Usopp with her eyes showing she was just thinking of the money, which had Usopp gasping.

"WHAT?!" Usopp snapped. "Nami, how can you be so heartless? Do you even realize the importance of this ship?! Who gave it to us?!"

"Now, now, calm down." Wren said sounding like a mother trying to calm her bickering children. "The Going Merry will be leaving with all of us. However, that doesn't mean we have to leave all the treasure behind."

Usopp looked relieved as Nami let out a happy squeal as she clapped her hands together.

"Wren, you're the best!" Nami said.

Wren chuckled before snapping her fingers, which brought fourth those gorilla beasts, but they were the smaller version than the ones Wren had first conjured before joining the crew. The kids gasped at the monkey monsters as they all hooted and looked up to Wren.

"Collect all the gold and treasure you can get in ten minutes." Wren said. "We will be leaving shortly."

They hooted and saluted before they quickly got to work. Wren then glanced towards Theodosia with a silent message passing between them. Theodosia tilted her head, but nodded in the end. She then snuck off with the rest of the crew not noticing. Theodosia went to search the ships for treasure and anything that could be useful. The monster monkeys, which were known as Goliath Gorillas, brought Wren treasure while turning the belt on in the tower that had the treasure being sent out the tunnel to the outside world.

"Wetton-san is going to be pleased with this haul." Wren said smirking. "For at least a few moments until the treasure is taken from him."

Five minutes passed suddenly sensed people coming her way, and they weren't friendlies. She turned her head seeing some of Wetton's men and Wetton himself were heading her way. She frowned getting the feeling Sanji and Chopper were defeated. Perhaps she should have immediately sent Theodosia back to aid them. Sanji and Chopper wouldn't stand a chance against a flame or electroshock suit since they had no way of fighting without having to physically touch their opponents with their own bodies, and touching such suits were not a good idea.

"Wren, what is it?!" Nami called out.

"Complications." Wren said as she placed her hand on her sword. "Don't worry too much about it. I will handle the unwanted guests."

Nami and the others then watched as about two or three dozen men appeared in the entrance to the tunnel. Nami recognized Wetton, Phillip, and Lake immediately along with Ian who had left just minutes ago.

"Hmm, it was all a nice try, girl." Wetton said to Wren. "But no one is going to keep me from my treasure! My men will make short work of you and your friends, and in the end all the treasure in Ape's Concert will be mine!"

Wren didn't seem worried at all, and when a few men tried to pass her to get into Ape's Concert, Wren whipper out her sword cutting them clean through their chests. They dropped into the water with it starting to stain red with their blood. Some gasped at how easily Wren ended two lives with a single sword stroke while without even blinking.

"I tried to warn you, Wetton-san." Wren said as she kept her head down. "I tried to warn all of you that my patience was running very thin. However, you just keep trying to test me. Now, you've gotten to the end of the last straw."

Wren lifted her head with her red eyes showing how deadly serious was being. Wetton and his men shuddered while certain they were looking at a demon.

"If you want this treasure so badly, you can stay here with it." Wren said. "Dead or alive will be your decision. I hope you choose wisely."

Wetton glared at Wren. He's come all this way. Has gotten to Ape's Concert to take out all its treasure, and this one woman is ruining everything. She's destroying the dream he's had for fifty years of having all the treasure in this place for himself. It was still tensely silently when there was suddenly screaming from the tower. Everyone looked wondering what the noise was when Luffy and Rapanui came flying through the tower. They hit Wetton in the back to send him flying towards the ground. He went rolling down the ramp to Wren's feet, but she paid him no mind as she looked to Luffy.

"Captain, how did you manage to get to the outside to come back in?" Wren asked with her head tilted.

"I don't know." Luffy said. "I was playing in the mist then we got lost, and next thing we were outside. Then we had to come back for the others. And to give that evil mayor an ass kicking! He hurt Sanji and Chopper!"

Wren frowned while turning a glare down on Wetton. She had figured he had hurt Sanji and Chopper. However, hearing Luffy say that angered her beyond belief.

"I see." Wren said. "Then he is yours to fight, Captain. I won't get in the way."

"Right." Luffy said nodding. "I'll leave the others to you."

Wren stepped over Wetton to head towards Wetton's men as Luffy headed towards Wetton as Ian and Phillip rushed to help him up. Wetton was starting to rant, but Wren ignored him as she kept her eyes on his men. She walked past Rapanui who was frozen in fear by the killer intent coming from Wren. He's never felt it so strongly from anyone before. Even knowing she wasn't her target…he couldn't help but tremble. He slowly turned her head to watch her as she held her sword out to her side. Just what kind of demon was this woman?

"You all better make peace with whatever god you follow." Wren said. "Because you might be meeting them today if I can't control my temper. Let's just hope it isn't the devil who takes you instead."

The men all shuddered looking as if they might start crying right then and there. Lake gulped before the stepped forward to fight her even if he was scared out of his mind.

"You won't be able to touch me with my electroshock suit!" Lake said as he held up the bars on his suit. "Now, Rolling Thunder!"

He tried to hit Wren with the attack, but she easily dodged by taking a small step to the side while not even breaking her slow and deliberate pace. Lake started shaking while starting to throw electricity out randomly due to his fear. Some of his men cried out as they were hit instead and being thrown into the Rain Bow mist and out of the tower.

"Lake, sir, please stop!" His men shouted. "You're not aiming right!"

Lake didn't hear them as he continued to yell and throw out electricity. Whenever it got near Wren, she dodged with ease. She was then right on top of him, which had him crying out in fear as he closed his eyes and flinched backwards. However, Wren walked right past him, which had him gasping in shock. Lake watched as Wren went right up to his generator with his men, who were manning it, freezing up.

"Out of the way." She said.

They all jumped out of the way, and second later she sliced through the generator as if it was butter.

"WHAT?!" Lake shouted. "How did she do that?!"

His men just cried like babies as they all ran over to Lake while hiding behind him. Wren turned to look at them while getting in a sword stance. They all shook wondering what she was going to do now.

"Soft Song." Wren said then slashed forward.

A soft wailing song came from the attack, but it came with a gust of power that sent Lake and his men flying out of the tower as well into the water on the other side. No cuts appeared on them as Wren sheathed her sword. She then stepped to the side when Wetton was thrown past her by Luffy to crash into his fuel tank, which had fuel running out everywhere. Wren looked at the obviously out of his league mayor before stepping down onto the ramp with Luffy.

"Shall I have the crew prepare the ship to leave, Captain, as you finish up?" Wren asked as she stood next to Luffy.

"Yeah." Luffy said as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll be there soon."

Wren nodded her head though before she could move, Wetton was back on his feet.

"Dammit," Wetton said as he dropped the top of his suit.

He ran over to a leaver to give it a push down, which had the ramp disconnecting. It dropped down into the water causing Luffy and Wren to go for a swim. Once Wren was submerged in water the Goliath Gorillas disappeared while dropping the treasure they had been gathering into the water or back onto the ships they took it from. Wren started to feel consciousness leave her as she sunk farther into the water. She barely noticed the explosion happening above the surface before her eyes closed.

As she was sneaking down further, Zoro, who had jumped into the water the second she and Luffy went down, swam over to her. He grabbed her as Rapanui was helping Luffy. Zoro put once of her arms around his shoulder then swam up to the surface. As soon as they breached the surface he took a deep breath of air.

"Luffy, Wren!" Usopp and Nami exclaimed while glad to see they were okay.

The Pumpkin pirates were happy to see Rapanui again since they had been so worried about them. After Zoro passed Wren over to Usopp, he looked over to where the Rainbow Tower was burning. None of that could be good. How were they going to get out now? He looked back onto the deck as Theodosia appeared at Wren's side. He frowned while starting to wonder where she's been. He hadn't noticed at first, but when Theodosia hadn't hurried to Wren's side when those men appeared, Zoro finally noticed she was missing. He wondered where she had went minutes ago.

"Wren-sama." Theodosia said as in a worried tone as she crouched down beside Wren.

There was then a roaring noise as if a storm was coming, which had Henzo stiffening up.

"It can't be!" He exclaimed while looking around.

"Professor?" Robin asked.

"This isn't good at all." Henzo said. "Ape's Concert maintains a very delicate balance to begin with. If you set of an explosion like that one in a place like this, there's no telling what might happen next."

He then happened to look up at the sky, and what he saw had him shouting in shock.

"What is that?" Zoro asked.

"The warping of space and time is expanding quickly." Henzo said. "At this right we'll get caught up in it. Then we'll all die!"

"WHAT?!" Usopp shouted.

Wren, who regained a bit of consciousness, grit her teeth together. She wasn't about to die here.

"The sky is falling fast!" Henzo said. "We've maybe got an hour tops!"

"Okay, we've got to get out here!" Usopp said.

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Nami asked.

Robin tried to consult her book to see if it would help, but it was revealed the answers she might want…would be in a different volume, which meant it was useless. Theodosia remained beside Wren while looking up at the falling sky. She had a concentrated look on her face. There had to be a way out here.

"Look, over there!" Rapanui shouted getting everyone's attention. "That light over there! It's the setting sun!"

Wren, who managed to get back onto her feet, moved to the railing to get a better look. It really was the sun, which meant that was their way out.

"The sun?" Usopp asked.

"That's right!" Rapanui said. "The setting sun is shining through a crack in space. Luffy and I followed that light earlier, and we ended up outside."

Usopp looked as if he wanted to ask more, but Wren started talking before that.

"Then that's the direction we should head." Wren said. "Nami-san, as navigator, I believe you should be the one to direct us in the right direction."

"Right." Nami said nodding.

She then started giving her orders as Zoro invited Wetton's abandoned men to join them. Once they were on the ship, everyone furled the sails and got out the long oars. As they started rowing, Nami tried to direct them with her whistle as Wren remained at her side. However, all they managed to do was go in circles since the two sides couldn't decide, which way was right. Wren sighed thinking she might not keep her promise to Sanji with the rate things were going. However, she refused to stay here, and if rowing wasn't an option.

"Theodosia." Wren called.

Theodosia looked up from her rowing as Wren beckoned her over. Theodosia stopped rowing immediately to hurry over to Wren's side.

"Yes, Wren-sama?" Theodosia asked.

"This might be asking a bit much, but you should be able to get us out of here." Wren said. "This place it upside and backwards much like your powers, isn't it?"

Theodosia nodded her head supposing that was truth, but she wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"What is out of order is now in order." Wren said. "Put what is out of place back in place."

Theodosia frowned wondering if it'd be that simple. Besides, she's never tried to warp time and space like that. And to put things in place, she looked over to the children. That meant sending them back to where they belonged, but Theodosia wasn't sure if that would work. They could get lost along the way.

"Have faith in your powers." Wren said. "Haven't I always told you that? If you want things to work then make them."

"Yes, Wren-sama." Theodosia said as the wind picked up and the sky fell more. "I will do what needs to be done."

Wren nodded as Theodosia sat down to take a deep breath. She had to do this just right or things wouldn't work a bit.

"What is out of order…is now…in order!" She said.

Everyone gasped feeling this weird pull as Theodosia's powers took effect. They all shouted as they felt this spinning sensation as the pull became stronger.

"What's happening?!" Lake shouted.

"I don't know!" Zoro called back. "Just hold on!"

Everyone did just that while feeling as if they were being pulled in different directions. There was a bright light as this shaking feelings started up. However, as soon as it started, it was suddenly over, and everyone was left lying on the ship gasping as they stared up at the clear blue sky.

"What? What just happened?" Usopp asked as he panted.

"I think it was Gypsy-san's doing." Robin said as she sat up.

Everyone looked towards Theodosia as she was hunched over and panting as Wren looked after her with Samba's help.

"That was an excellent job, Theodosia." Wren said. "You did well."

"Is everyone alright?" Theodosia asked.

Wren looked around the ship seeing everyone—minus the children—were accounted for and safe.

"Yes." Wren said. "And the children are back where they should be."

She knew it had to be so or there would be some bad after affects that would be visible. Theodosia smiled despite feeling so tired.

"Good." Theodosia said. "I'm glad."

She then fell back into Wren unconscious. Wren smiled at Theodosia thinking she deserved a very long rest.

"Wait, do you where Rapanui and the others are?!" Henzo said looking around.

"They were sent back to the past." Wren said. "Fifty years ago in fact. You see, Theodosia used her powers to restore order. To do so those who were out of their own time had to be sent back."

Henzo looked down wondering if that was true. Did it mean his friends could possibly be back in Ruluka waiting?

"Wren-chan!"

Wren looked towards the shores of Ruluka seeing Sanji and Chopper there waving and jumping up and down. Wren was pleased to see them even if they did look a little worse for wear. And she was so happy to see the sky. Looks like things worked out in the end. She then looked down at Theodosia who continued to breathe deeply and rest.

"I suppose I will have to tell you of everything later on." Wren said.


	33. Down Time

As soon as the Going Merry reached the shore, everyone left the ship onto the docks. Sanji and Chopper ran towards the group while so happy to see them all. However, Chopper gasped in worry when seeing Zoro, who had Samba on his shoulder, carrying an unconscious Theodosia.

"Is she alright?" Chopper asked.

"Just unconscious." Zoro said. "I think she used too much of her devil fruit abilities."

"Well, let me check on her anyway." Chopper said.

He rushed over to the pair as Zoro was carefully setting Theodosia down on the ground with Samba watching closely. Sanji made it to the group was well with a big grin on his face.

"Hey, Sanji, long time no see." Luffy said waving.

Sanji ignored Luffy to run right up to Wren to pull her into his arms, which had her gasping. He lifted her up in the air enough that her head was above her own meaning she had to look down at him.

"Wren-chan, my love, you have returned!" Sanji said spinning her around.

Wren blushed slightly while noticing the looks being given from Nami, Robin, and Theodosia. Hell, even Samba and Usopp were giving looks.

"Sanji-san, please return me to my feet." Wren requested. "There is no reason for this."

Sanji did as he was told though kept his arms around Wren meaning she was pressed up against his chest. She wasn't sure what to do. She's been given hugs before by men, but it was different with Sanji since he wasn't one of the men from her _extended family_.

"Forgive me, my dear." Sanji said. "I'm just so happy you've returned."

"Well, I did promise you, didn't I?" Wren questioned. "I tend to keep my promises."

Sanji just smiled as he continued to stare into Wren's beautiful face. When the mist had started to disappear earlier he had been worried to never see her or the others again. But mostly her. He went to say something, but there was a growl of frustration behind them then a cry of pain. The two turned to look to see Nami had hit Usopp so hard he fell over with blood running from his nose even though she hit him on top the head.

"But why?" Usopp cried as Chopper whimpered in fear as he shrunk down from his heavy point to hide behind Zoro.

He grasped one of his legs while peeking around it to watch as Nami stomped off grumbling.

"I believe, Navigator-san is upset that we didn't get to bring any gold back with us." Robin said. "Then the gold Princess-san sent through is in the hands of the mayor."

"Which is exactly where I wanted it to go." Wren said as she stepped away from Sanji.

Her crewmates looked at her in confusion as Nami paused to turn around and glare at Wren.

"And why is that?" Nami asked.

"Because of them." Wren said pointing.

The crew all turned to see marine battleships at the dock as one of the ships fired a cannonball.

"Having stolen treasure is an act of piracy." Wren said. "And if the mayor happens to have a lot of it, he and his men will be going to prison meaning the people of Ruluka will be free of his rule."

Her friends looked at her with wide eyes wondering when she even had time to think of that, and how she knew the marines would be here. Wren just smirked thinking back to that presence she had felt in the ally earlier when that sea beast attacked. She had caught a glimpse of a marine officer's coat before the presence retreated. So she started forming a plan after that without telling anyone else about it.

"Okay, Pirates, that's far enough." A voice said as a marine was exiting the ship.

He walked over towards the pirates with Nami backing up to her friends for protection.

"Please, help us, sir!" Phillip shouted while running up to the marine to drop to his knees. "These people are terribly criminals! They've stolen everything our town's great mayor owns."

"We did?" Wren asked. "When did we do that?"

Sanji leaned down to get close to her ear not to be overheard by the marine guy.

"Well, when the mist disappeared at first, another one appeared above the mayor's place." Sanji whispered. "Sucked up the mansion and all his possessions."

"Hmm, this is certainly a good case of karma doing her work." Wren said as she tapped her chin.

Sanji nodded his head having to agree with that. The two then looked back to the marine and Phillip as the marine reached out to take one of Phillip's hands.

"Let's see." The marine said looking at the ring on Phillip's hands. "This the ring of Princess Illusia. It was stolen by pirates years ago, and here it is sitting on your finger now. Why do you have this?"

"Well, you see…" Phillip tried to explain with wide eyes.

Wren smirked knowing this was going to go well. Of course, once Wetton and his men were out of the way, they'd have to deal with the marines. However, Wren would worry about that when the time comes.

"You didn't steal it now, did you?" The marine asked.

His question had Phillip jumping back as if he had been burned by the marine's words.

"No!" Phillip said. "Of course not! This was a treasured that was resting inside Ape's Concert."

Wren knew that wouldn't help his cause because any treasure without an owner became property of the World Government, and anyone who tries to lays claims to it or steal it are pirates therefore criminals. That means being arrested and sent to Impel Down for piracy.

"Yes, yes, he's right." Lake said as he ran up to help his father. "We just pulled it out of the shipwreck that's all!"

"I see." The marine said. "Then what you're saying is that this ring here doesn't belong to anyone."

"WHAT?!" Lake and Phillip exclaimed.

A few more marines came up to stand behind the officer with the woman saluting him.

"Major, we discovered a substantial pile of treasure that we believe was carried out of there." She said.

"Right." The major said. "Well then the marines will be confiscating all of it."

This didn't seem to set well with Wetton since the former pirate ran up with an axe in hand.

"I won't let you." He said. "You better not so much as lay a finger on my treasure. It's mine! All of it mine!"

"Any treasure that is found without an official owner is the property of the World Government, and if it's obtained illegally, that would be considered an act of piracy." The mayor said.

"That's fine with me!" Wetton said as he raised his axe. "I'm really a pirate anyway! Anything I want I can just take by force!"

He went to attack the major with Usopp and Luffy crying out in warning. Though it didn't seem as if there was any cause for worry since the major stopped Wetton's axe with one finger.

"Let's consider that your confession, shall we?" The major asked. "If that's okay with you, Pirate Captain Wetton?"

Wren blinked wondering how this marine even knew Wetton's name or that he had been a pirate captain. Wetton blinked in confusion before the major flicked him so hard in the head it sent him spinning onto his back. Henzo stared in shock while recognizing that attack anywhere.

"No, no, it can't be." Henzo said.

The major chuckled before removing his sunglasses. Wren tilted her head at the man thinking there was something familiar about him.

"Rapanui!" Henzo exclaimed.

Robin and Nami gasped in shock as Wren's eyes widened slightly. Yes, that's why he looked familiar. He was Rapanui only fifty years older.

"No way!" Usopp and Luffy exclaimed in unison.

Well, it seemed as if Theodosia's power worked. She did manage to place Rapanui and the others back fifty years. However, there seemed to be a glitch since they obviously hadn't just returned to Ruluka. Wren shrugged guessing she'd count this as an accomplishment on Theodosia's part. And it showed just how powerful Theodosia's power could be. Now, if only Wren could get her to focus it more properly. There's no telling what Theodosia might be able to accomplish someday.

"It is good to see you again, Henzo." The woman said as she walked up.

"Isoka." Henzo said.

Isoka nodded her head smiling while glad not to see just Henzo but the Straw Hat Pirates as well.

"Okay, take Wetton and his men into custody." Rapanui ordered.

"Right." The others nodded.

As they started to round of Wetton and his men, Wren started to think it had been a very interesting day. One that she wouldn't want to repeat in the future, which means she'll make a note not to go near mists if they even look the slightest bit rainbow in color. Her friends spoke with Rapanui to understand what happened, but Wren already had an idea of all that happened. Rapanui and the others did up fifty years ago, but in a different location. Then knowing what they did, they most likely came up with a plan to take care of Wetton and his men, which explained why such proud pirates became marines and took so long to return.

"Talk about playing the long game." Wren said.

She thought she was playing a pretty long chess game, but these kids—now her elders—obviously had her beat. She just hoped it didn't take her so long to finish her game. She mentally shook herself. She wouldn't allow it to go on that long, which is why she will be working twice as hard now to get together what she needs to bring down Doflamingo and his empire. By the time she finds Law, she'll have everything in place, so they can fulfill their shared dream. Wren came out of her thoughts as her crewmates exclaimed loudly in shock. She blinked looking at them in confusion.

"What is wrong here?" She asked Zoro who she ended up standing beside without knowing how it happened.

"We're being arrested apparently." He said not looking to concerned.

"I see." Wren said. "That would explain why Usopp-san is hiding behind us."

Zoro nodded his head just as casually as she spoke as Usopp was shouting things at Rapanui like calling him a jerk, but from the safety behind his crewmates. Wren highly doubted they were actually going to be arrested, so she wasn't too worried. However, if Rapanui really tried anything, her first priority was getting Theodosia safely on the Going Merry out of the line of fire.

"As a marine, I am charged with upholding justice." Rapanui said. "I can't just let a pirate with a bounty on his head get away. However,"

Rapanui paused while dropping the serious expression he had on his face a moment ago.

"It can't be!" Rapanui shouted as he clutched his head. "Right now, we've got to take Wetton and his crew back to Marine Headquarters! But if we do that the Straw Hat Pirates, will be able to slip away. There are just too much for us to handle now. What are we going to do?!"

Wren gave Rapanui a deadpanned expression while wondering if he was being serious right now.

"I know!" He exclaimed. "Request assistance from the Marine Base at once, but no! They won't arrive until tomorrow or the next day at the earliest! Hah, that will give the pirates plenty of time to escape! Argh, dammit! AHHHH! I guess there's nothing I can do now!"

He shouted this was he ran away with the Straw Hats watching him go with mixed expressions.

"Very convincing, isn't he?" The crew asked sarcastically.

"A bit too dramatic for my taste, but I suppose I can applaud his commitment to his role." Wren said then turned towards the Going Merry. "Now, shall we continue on with our own adventures before the marines show up again?"

"Yeah!" Luffy said laughing. "Let's go! Bye, Pops!"

Luffy waved to Henzo before running towards the Going Merry before Henzo could even get out a thank-you.

"Zoro, be careful with her, okay?" Chopper instructed as Zoro carefully went to pick up Theodosia again.

"Right." Zoro said.

"Yeah, careful, ya shitty marimo." Sanji said. "If you hurt one of the lovely ladies of the crew, I'll kick your ass."

"As if you could, Ero-cook." Zoro retorted as he headed for the ship.

Sanji growled in aggravation while ready to kick Zoro's ass from here to the end of the Grand Line. The two bickered heading for the ship with Chopper making sure their bickering didn't bother his patient. Samba watched the two watch curiously from her perch on Zoro's head as Nami looked at the log pose.

"Well, the log pose does seem ready to head for the next island." Nami said while smiling Robin and Wren. "So we're ready to go it seems. I just wish we could have taken some of the treasure."

Her smile dropped as she said this with a cloud of depression hanging over her.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about the treasure." Wren said as she walked over to Nami to put her arm around the other girl's shoulders. "While things had gotten exciting in Ape's Concert, I had sent Theodosia to collect some riches for us. It should be on the ship waiting for you, Nami-san."

"What?!" Nami exclaimed as she jumped excitedly with a grin on her face. "Really, Wren?!"

Wren nodded her head while chuckling as Nami squealed happily while hugging her.

"You're the best, sis!" Nami said. "I can't wait to trade that treasure in for beries!"

"We should be able to do that on the next island, which has a trading outpost." Wren said. "Unless if we land on the deserted island. It all depends on what the log pose choses."

Nami nodded her head not really hearing Wren as she danced over towards the ship. Wren sighed then glanced over towards Robin who she has grown a little less frosty towards.

"Shall we, Robin-san?" Wren asked.

"I'll be right there." Robin said.

Wren nodded then headed towards the ship as Robin said her goodbyes to Henzo. It seemed as if Robin made a connection to Henzo, and if she was still capable of making genuine human connections with others, perhaps she wasn't as bad as Wren believed. In other words, Wren supposed she could cut Robin some slack. Wren then looked up at the sky as the wind blew. She smiled softly while brushing her hair partially back.

"I suppose it's time for the next adventure." She said.

* * *

Zoro watched silently as Wren and Theodosia were training as most of the crew was resting on the latest island they were on. They made it to a small trading island where Nami went to trade the gold Theodosia had gotten for beries. Robin had went with her, so Zoro was sure those two would do some shopping. Sanji went into town as well, but to do some shopping at the market with the beries they already had. Then Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy were fishing from the Going Merry with Samba sleeping on top of Luffy's head without a care in the world. Zoro had suspected Theodosia and Wren to go to town with Robin and Nami to shop. However, Wren mentioned sword training, and Theodosia had eagerly agreed. Now the two were sparing together with Wren dominating the fight.

He watched her move and how expertly she did so as well. She was obviously skilled. Not as skilled as Hawk-Eye by any means, but Zoro was certain she was more skilled than himself. Zoro narrowed his eyes as his hand clenched his Wado Ichimonji. How did he get as skilled as her? Was it through sheer training alone? Wren didn't seem like the time to do the weight training he did. She had a more subtle type of fighting than he did because he relied more on sheer force. But even he knew there was more to swordplay than that. However, he had trouble sometimes not just relying on his physical strength.

He continued to watch as Wren managed to knock Theodosia's swords from her hands. The two hook swords flew up into the air and Wren caught the curved hooks on her finger with ease.

"You win…again." Theodosia said chuckling sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head.

"And what made you lose?" Wren asked.

Theodosia blinked tilting her head to the side as she tried to think of the right answer.

"I let you determine the terms of the fight." Theodosia said.

"That's right." Wren said. "From the moment we started, I had the upper hand, and you let me have it. If you wish to win a sword fight, you must force your opponent to have the disadvantage because once you do that it is only a matter of time before they slip up from being pressured, which gets you the victory."

Theodosia nodded in understanding before catching her swords once Wren threw them back at her.

"Wren-chan! Theo-san!"

When Sanji's voice entered the air, Zoro frowned as the two women turned towards the blonde chef who was running their way while carrying many bags.

"I'm back, and I'm going to make you a delicious lunch!" Sanji said then came to a skidding halt in front of them. "And, Wren-chan, they had a wide selection of tea in town! I managed to get all sorts of different types for you to try if you've haven't already had them alright."

Wren smiled at Sanji, which had the chef's entire face lighting up even more. Zoro's brow quirked slightly as he looked between Sanji and Wren. Was it just him or was the cook paying more attention to Wren than the other females on their crew? Zoro thought about it for a moment before giving a shrug since he honestly didn't care.

"Thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said. "Tea actually sounds lovely right now. It would be nice to take a break from training after all, wouldn't it, Theodosia?"

"Yes, Wren-sama." Theodosia said smiling. "Shall I get you some water or perhaps bring you your chair?"

"No, no." Wren said. "Go do as you wish. I can get those things on my own."

Theodosia nodded her head then hurried off to join Luffy and the others on the Going Merry. As they were doing that Zoro watched as Wren headed towards the Going Merry much slower with Sanji at her side. They chatted comfortably as Zoro Wren was sheathing her sword. Zoro still hasn't gotten a chance to fight against her or her sword. She said she would spar with him after what happened in Alabasta, but they haven't had much down time since then. But today…today might be the chance he was waiting for.

* * *

Wren hummed a small tune as she was looking through the tea selections that Sanji had bought. He certainly had bought many different types, and she hoped she didn't spend too much money on it just for her. Though she was delighted with the different varieties. As she was looking through them, Sanji, who was prepping for lunch, looked over at her with a soft grin on his face. Her humming tones were quite lovely, and the tune she was humming it almost sounded familiar to him.

"Wren-chan," Sanji addressed.

Wren paused in her humming to look up at the cook curiously as she tilted her head to the side.

"That tune you're humming," Sanji began. "What is it?"

"Oh, it is from a song that was very popular on my home island." Wren said. "The song is an old tune that tells of what is important to our country and how even if Era ends the song will live on to tell our tale, so we will never be forgotten. It was played often at festivals or mothers would sing a ballad version of it to their children to put them to sleep. I know my mother sung it to my brothers and me often."

Wren smiled softly while thinking of those times her mother sang the song as Wren and Abel were tucked away in their sheets.

"It is known as The Heart of Era." Wren said.

"I feel as if I have heard it before when I still lived in the North Blue." Sanji said honestly. "I just can't remember where."

"Well, ever since leaving Era, I have never heard it anywhere else." Wren said honestly. "Not even in different parts of the North Blue. So I'm not sure where you could have heard it."

Sanji tilted his head not sure himself, but he couldn't brush off the feeling that he's heard it before. He doesn't remember ever visiting Era before as a child. If his family had…Sanji frowned thinking of his family. Well, Era probably would have ended before Doflamingo appeared if his family ever went there. Or it would have gotten a new monarch at least.

"Is everything alright, Sanji-san?" Wren asked snapping him from his thoughts.

"Ah, yes, Wren-chan!" Sanji said grinning at her. "I'm fine."

He went back to work after that as Wren lightly frowned. Something was definitely up with him, but it wasn't really her place to question him. Wren then remember something that had dropping her curiosity on the previous topic.

"Sanji-san, what is your home like?" Wren asked. "You said you were from North Blue, didn't you? Do you still have family there?"

Sanji, who had his back to her now, stiffened when she asked, which didn't go unnoticed by Wren. Perhaps Wren shouldn't have asked anything. She knew some people didn't like talking about their pasts. Especially if it was a sore subject.

"My home?" Sanji asked. "It wasn't anything special, and my family moved from the North Blue when I still little. It's how I ended up in the East Blue to end up in that crap geezer's care."

"I see." Wren said not wanting to push the matter.

She didn't want to force Sanji to speak of things that might bring him bad feelings for memories. When things went quiet, Sanji glanced over at Wren as she continued to look through the tea. He felt a bit bad for sounding so curt and short when speaking about his family. He knew she didn't mean anything about it.

"I actually have a few of siblings." Sanji said.

Wren looked up to look at him curiously. He didn't seem entirely comfortable talking about this, but she just kept quiet letting him say as much as he felt comfortable.

"There's my older sister—Reiju." Sanji said. "Then my brothers—Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji. We're a set of quadruplets."

"I figured you had brothers at least." Wren said smiling.

Sanji looked at her in confusion wondering how she could have figured that out.

"Your name." Wren said. "It means "third son", doesn't it?"

Sanji nodded his head guessing that was a slight give away that he might have brothers.

"I had brothers as well." Wren said smiling. "Abel and Kol. I loved them bother dearly, but I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister."

Sanji smiled as well while glad to see the happy expression on Wren's face as she spoke of her brothers.

"I had begged my mother to give me a little sister." Wren said chuckling. "She said it was up to my father if they have another child."

Wren remembers following around Vladimir for days begging for a baby sister. He had put up with all her whining and pouting while looking amused the entire time.

"Both of my parents were kind people." Wren said. "So unlike some people of royalty, and they taught my brothers and I that true royals treat those underneath with kindness and love. That as their royal family that we are meant to protect them and ensure their happiness. It always made me happy whenever my father would let me leave the castle those few times to help him see to our people and see if they needed anything of us."

Wren had rarely been left out of the castle since Vladimir feared for Wren's safety. He had feared something might have happened to her if people found out about her gift. And when someone had come looking for the power she possessed, things happened that were worse than he feared. Wren lost her smile as she stopped looking through the tea. Sanji noticed the change in her mood, which had his brows furrowing.

"Wren-chan," He began while stepping towards her to place his hand on her shoulder.

He was about to say something to her, but the door to the kitchen opened to reveal Zoro. He didn't even care or take note of how close Sanji and Wren were as he looked to Wren.

"Hey, get outside." Zoro said jerking his thumb over his shoulder to gesture outside.

"Hmm, why?" Wren asked curiously. "Has something happened?"

Her haki didn't warn her of anything, and it's been quiet outside this entire time. Zoro just gripped the hilt of his Wado Ichimonji as he smirked.

"It's time we fight." Zoro said.

* * *

Coco: Okay, it is time for the SBS! First question is from the lovely Momochan77! And it seems as if it's directed at our blonde chef!

Momochan77: If Wren suddenly became a man and the only way to turn her back was for him to kiss her could he do it?

Coco: Well, Sanji, could you?

Sanji: I am not into men, but if kissing Wren-chan while she is in that form will return her to her beautiful feminine shelf, I would! Then I could kick the ass of whoever messed with Wren-chan! No one turns one of the lovely ladies of our crew into a man and gets away with it on my watch!

Wren: *gives Sanji deadpanned look* I don't know if I should be flattered or not.

Coco: Now onto the next few questions from ArtistGiumi!

ArtistGiumi: Will there ever be a chapter exclusively where the crewmates talk about what they think of Wren and there relations with her? Do you have any reference picture as to what Wren might look like? Anything Similar? Or do you want us to imagine what she look like?

Coco: Well, the next chapter will mostly be focused on Zoro and Wren's relationship as crewmates, and how they work together. As for Wren's appearance, I have asked a friend of mine to do some cover art, which you can use a visual aid.

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Coco: Well, this is the end of another SBS. Hopefully there will be more questions to answer at the end of the Jaya arc. I'll be happy to answer them if you send them in :D


	34. A Friendly Spar

Coco: I would just like to point out in my last SBS I forgot to ask a reviewer's question! poisondusk1, I am so sorry for missing your question. I really need to write them down as soon as I get them, so they can be answered! But I am going to answer it now for you!

poisondusk1: I'm loving this story so much! I can't wait for the next chapter. And my question is what's Wrens favorite tea?

Coco: Wren's favorite tea is Earl Grey. It is a tea blend with distinctive citrus flavor and aroma derived from the oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit. Though Wren isn't too pick with tea flavor to begin with as long as it is prepared right. And she is always up for trying something new. However, whenever she is having a bad day or having a long night a cup of Earl Grey is what she craves for.

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Coco: I hope that answered your question, poisondusk1, and sorry for missing it in the first place. And as for everyone else. Remember to send in those questions, so I can add them to the SBS that will appear at the end of the Jaya Arc. Now I hope you like the chapter :D

P.S. Also, I'd messed up in Theodosia's ar. I mean, I had Zoro using three sword style for his 36 caliber phoenix, and he won't use that move until Skypiea. And it was just one sword style then. So I'm going to go back and fix that later, and I'll correct my mistake sort of in this chapter as well.

* * *

It was silent for a moment in the galley as Wren and Zoro looked at each other silently. However, it was broken by a steaming mad cook who couldn't believe what his ears had heard.

"What the hell did you say, Marimo?!" Sanji demanded. "You better not even think of laying a finger on her! Do you hear me?!"

Zoro glanced at the cook for a moment thinking Sanji sounded more protective than usual. Like there was actual real anger behind his words than those times he blew up when he accused Zoro of doing something to the girls. Zoro didn't bother to think why as he looked back to towards Wren. Said woman let out a chuckle as she rested one hand on the hilt of Banshī.

"I suppose I did promise you that after all the excitement in Alabasta that we would spar." Wren said. "I always try to keep my promises, and it has been some time since then. I have kept you waiting. I apologize. Please,"

She raised her hand to gesture outside while giving a polite smile towards the swordsman.

"Let us go outside." She finished.

Zoro's smirk widened as Sanji looked at Wren with wide eyes as his jaw dropped.

"But, Wren-chan, this shitty marimo is a savage!" Sanji said pointing at Zoro. "He won't hold back, and he might hurt you!"

Wren placed a hand on Sanji's chest while giving Sanji a gentle smile as he looked at her in worry.

"It will be alright." Wren said reassuringly. "I can handle myself against rough men. Besides, I'm certain Zoro-san wouldn't hurt me too badly. He is a big softy after all."

Zoro frowned at the softy comment with a blush of embarrassment on his face. He then scoffed as he started heading outside. Wren followed after him with Sanji close behind since he was still worried. As they headed out to the deck, they were noticed by their three crewmates and Samba.

"Hey, Sanji, is lunch ready yet?" Luffy asked. "I'm starving!"

"Shut-up, Luffy, it'll be done when it's done!" Sanji snapped.

Luffy whined when Sanji said that as the cook was very tempted to go back into the kitchen. He didn't like anyone going hungry even his idiot captain who always seemed to be hungry, but he didn't want to be inside while Zoro and Wren spar. Something could happen to Wren, and he wouldn't be out here to help her.

"Are you going somewhere, Wren-sama?" Theodosia asked curiously.

Samba, who was awake but still resting on Luffy's hat covered head, blinked at Wren while going "tek-teky" as if she was asking as well. Wren smiled at the both of them as Zoro jumped over the side of the Going Merry to the shore.

"No." Wren said. "Zoro-san and I are going to have a friendly spar."

This perked the interest of the others as they abandoned their fishing to follow the others. Wren jumped over the side as well while landing with ease. She and Zoro walked towards the middle of the opening between their ship and the jungle they had anchored near. The others stood or sat closer to the ship while looking between them.

"Go, Zoro, go!" Luffy cheered.

"Do your best, Wren-sama!" Theodosia shouted. "But don't kill him, okay?"

Theodosia didn't know if she could handle her future boyfriend dying before either of them could even start their relationship. Wren chuckled with her lips turning up.

"I will try not to hurt him too much." Wren said.

Zoro grinned as well as he felt excitement build up in his veins. He's been waiting for this. It was finally time. It was silent for a moment as the two sword wielders just stared at each other. Zoro slightly pushed his sword from his sheath, and a split second later he was charging at Wren. He drew his Wado Ichimonji to place in his mouth before drawing the other two. He was nearly right on top of Wren to attack, but she vanished from sight to appear behind him. She drew her own sword while going to cut him from behind. However, Zoro whirled around to block her.

The four blades screeched against each other with sparks flying slightly from the force behind them. Zoro smirked slightly when he managed to move Wren back an inch. However, Wren didn't seem worried as her own smirk remained on her face. Her visible red eye was clear and focused as Zoro pushed her back a little bit more.

"Wail." She whispered.

Zoro was confused as to what was happening at first, but suddenly a screeching noise entered the air that had him flinching back. Not only that, but the attack was like small little swords were attacking his body as a few cuts appeared here and there. As soon as he was distracted by the first wail, Wren shoved hard on her sword making him tilt backwards. He cursed once he lost balance since that was one of the worst things that could happen to a swordsman.

He grit his teeth because he wasn't going to beaten so easily as he had been with Mihawk. Zoro went with the momentum of his fall while spinning away before Wren's next slash could reach him. He landed on his feet a few feet away as the others continued to cheer in the background, but he really didn't listen. He had to be more careful during this fight. If not, he really could end up dead. Wren was dangerous, and he's known that for a while. But to be on the end of her blade as her opponent really put it into prospective for him. He took a deep breath to clear his head as he tightened his hands on his swords, and his jaw around his Ichimonji.

"That was a pretty neat trick." Zoro said. "Your flying slash attacks…how do you preform them without moving your blade?"

Wren swept Banshī off to her side while placing one hand on her hip looking at ease.

"It isn't that hard once you have the training." Wren said. "However, that wasn't a flying slash attack."

Zoro frowned in confusion wondering what she would call that then. It wasn't just an attack from direct force like a normal sword slash.

"Banshī is a specialty sword." Wren said. "The one who made the sword made it with one purpose in mind. That is to trap the malevolent spirit that was terrorizing his village. This spirit was known as the banshee. A wailing spirit whose wail was strong enough to cause death if anyone met it directly."

Chopper and Usopp gulped as they held onto each other. This spirit sounded really scary.

"The maker of this sword fought the spirit with this very sword, and managed to trap the spirit with it." Wren said. "However, he lost his life because the sound of the banshee's screams ended his life. Ever since then this blade has been known as cursed and those who own it along with it. And while the screams can still be deadly, they are now focused to attack like slices from a sword. If I unfocused the screams, many in a certain radius would die. That would include me, so I don't plan to try it out. However, letting out small wails as I did moments ago is harmless."

"Harmless?!" Chopper asked. "Zoro is bleeding!"

He pointed to the bleeding swordsman as Theodosia bit her lip. She hoped Wren didn't treat this like a first lesson with one of her subordinates. Those were brutal. Wren tended to beat her subordinates into the ground to access their skills. She says it allows her to evaluate what kind of training program her subordinates need. Theodosia tried to tell herself that Wren wouldn't do that since Zoro isn't her subordinate and isn't going to be. So she wouldn't go that far, right?

As soon as she thought that, Wren rushed Zoro while slashing downwards with her sword. Zoro grunted as he blocked the sword with his own. He was almost forced to his knees by the force. He was then hit with another wail a second later to send him rolling across the ground. Samba winced from on top of Luffy's head as Theodosia guessed she was wrong…very wrong. Zoro rolled back onto his feet then got into a stance.

"Bull Horns!" He shouted launching forward like a bull.

Wren blocked two of his swords, but one managed to nick her side, which ripped her shirt with a small thin cut appearing on her torso to draw blood. Just the sight of it had Sanji's blood boiling.

"Zoro, you bastard!" Sanji roared. "I'm going to kick your ass for hurting her."

Before Sanji could interfere, Wren retaliated to Zoro's attack by slashing forward. Zoro didn't move back much, but another cut appeared on his arm. It was still for a moment before Zoro and Wren started attacking each other aggressively and rapidly. As they were fighting, Robin and Nami finally returned from their trip into town.

"What is going on here?" Nami demanded as she and Robin set their bags down.

"It would appear Swordsman-san and Princess-san are sparing." Robin said watching as Zoro put a small nick on Wren's cheek.

This had Sanji even more boiling mad, but he was being held back by Usopp and Theodosia. If it had just been Usopp, Sanji could have kicked him off, but Sanji can't hurt Theodosia.

"I can see that." Nami said frowning as she placed her hands on her hips. "But why?!"

She didn't see the point in such an intense spare. The two fighting were drawing blood after all. It all seemed too much for a simple spar. One of them—most likely Zoro—could get really hurt.

"Why don't you guys just calm down?" Nami said. "Wren, Robin and I got quite a few things from town! We even picked you and Theodosia out some things!"

Theodosia glanced towards Nami when she spoke as the slightly older girl pulled a cute top from the bag.

"I will gladly sit down with all of you to see what you have brought back." Wren said then deflected Zoro's next attack. " _After_ Zoro-san and I are done."

Nami sighed while putting the top away. She should have known that wouldn't have worked.

"I think we should join our crewmates in the audience." Robin said as she used her powers to grow out arms that moved the deck chairs down below.

Her arms unfolded them, so Robin could sit down to watch. Nami let out a groan of annoyance, but she did sit down in the other chair to watch. Nami didn't see the appeal of fighting like this. Even those little nicks had to hurt. She shook her head as Zoro and Wren continued to aggressively clash. Wren managed to force Zoro to jump back when her sword nearly sliced his torso open, which would have had his guts falling out. He stepped back a few feet panting as he narrowed his eyes at Wren.

She looked as if she was barely breaking a sweat while he felt as if he just ran a marathon. Not only that, but he was at the disadvantage now since he couldn't use flying slash attacks like Wren. Zoro then cursed when seeing Wren was taking a stance.

"100 Wails!" Wren said sending the 100 wailing slashes Zoro's way.

He cursed again as his crewmates gasped. Wren was really serious about all this. Zoro grit his teeth knowing he might have to try that attack. Zoro put away two of his swords before putting his Wado Ichimonji in one hand. Wren tilted her head as Zoro held his sword above his head with one hand as his other hand on his arm as if bracing it.

She stood there waiting to see what would happen. Zoro let out a shout as he slashed forward, and Wren's eyes widened partially when seeing the slight forming of a flying slash attack. The attack did go a few feet away from Zoro, and took down a few of her wails. However, Wren could see it wasn't enough since the rest of her attacks made it through, which had Zoro cursing knowing he had to do something else.

Zoro quickly started deflecting and a dodging the attacks, and he was doing well until about the 50th slash. It hit him in the side drawing blood, and it distracted him for a mere second that allowed the next few to hit. Just when he thought he'd have to take the rest of them. Wren appeared between him and the attacks. She looked him right in the eye then slashed her sword out to the side. Even though she wasn't facing these attacks, the backlash of her swing deflected the rest of the attacks down. He huffed looking at her with wide eyes at how easy she made it all seem. Wren then sheathed her sword.

"I believe that's enough for a first spar." Wren said to Zoro as he was knelt on his knees gasping for air. "I congratulate you for cutting me. Many don't manage to even last as long as you when first crossing blades with me."

Zoro still wasn't happy since he was defeated even if this was a spar. He lost it, and Wren just had two cuts on her body. Nothing more.

"That attack of yours," Wren began getting Zoro to look up at her. "It has great potential. You just have to focus it more, or it will never be as strong as you want it. Flying slash attacks aren't something you commonly find in this side of the Grand Line let alone from a swordsman from the East Blue."

Zoro did take a bit pride in that though he knew he had a lot of room to cover if he ever wanted to beat Wren. He saw Wren as like a halfway point. If he can become better than her then he was halfway to his goal of defeating Mihawk. He would train hard, and often ask her for more sparing sessions to learn from her and study her movements.

"If you ever want help in training, just ask, Zoro-san." Wren said as she started walking over to the others.

Zoro just remained knelt on the ground watching her go as Chopper ran over to him to check on his wounds since his were deeper than the ones he managed to get on Wren. As Wren approached the others, Sanji quickly ran up to her since Theodosia and Usopp let him go. He quickly placed his hands on her shoulders while looking at her cuts to see if she was alright. He cupped her cheek while brushing some of the blood off of it with his thumb. Wren smiled at him as he continued to look at her in worry.

"I am fine, Sanji-san." Wren said. "No reason to worry so much."

"But you're hurt." Sanji said then glared over at Zoro. "That shitty marimo should have held back against such a lovely lady."

Wren chuckled at his words before reaching up to pat the hand he had on her cheek, which had his eye turning back to her as his gaze softened.

"I am glad Zoro-san fought as he did because I had fun." Wren said smiling.

It was a smile he hasn't really seen. It was so carefree, unguarded. She seemed…happy. Sanji sighed wishing she wasn't hurt, but to see her happy, made his heart warm.

"I'm happy for you, my dear." Sanji said. "Now how about some tea and lunch? I can have it prepared soon."

"That sounds nice." Wren said as she and Sanji headed towards the ship. "That Oolong tea did catch my eye."

"Say no more, Wren-chan!" Sanji said as he gave a bow. "I will make it for you immediately."

Wren chuckled at his behavior as the others watched them without them noticing. Nami smiled as she rested her cheek in the palm of her and as her elbow was propped on her chair.

"You know, they're kind of cute." Nami said giggling.

Robin hummed in agreement as she watched Sanji practically carry Wren onto the ship even when she tried to politely protest.

"Chef-san seems to treat Princess-san with extra special treatment." Robin said.

Nami nodded as the two "love-birds" disappeared into the galley. Nami was sure Wren could take care of her small wounds in there, so she wasn't too worried. Nami looked back towards Zoro as Theodosia, who was holding Zoro's shirt, which Zoro had taken off for Chopper to work, and Chopper were looking after him. The entire time Chopper was cleaning his wounds, Zoro stared forward with a look of concentration on his face. He didn't even respond when Chopper asked him if he was hurting too much. Theodosia gave him a look of concern as she reached out to stroke his hair gently in a soothing manner, and Zoro barely blinked not seeming to notice her touch. She spoke to him in hushed tones, and Zoro actually turned his head to listen to her.

"Speaking of cute." Nami said grinning.

Samba, who was in her lap without Nami even noticing her at first, blinked curiously.

"Teky-tek?" She chittered.

Nami giggled looking down at the confused monkey while reaching down to scratch the top of her head.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Nami joked.

Samba's brow quirked before she looked towards her master as Theodosia continued to help Chopper look after Zoro. Samba shrugged not understanding. She then hopped down from Nami's lap to go over to Zoro and Theodosia. She climbed onto the swordsman head as Zoro was deep in thought. He needed to get stronger, and he would. He would surpass Wren.

* * *

After the sun had set, and everyone was in bed, Zoro sat up in the crow's nest since it was his time to keep watch. He was just looking up at the sky with a frown on his face. What happened today just kept playing and playing in his mind. Wren had said his attack had potential, but he had to focus it more. He wasn't sure how to do that honestly. But there had to be away.

"Zoro-san,"

Zoro jumped slightly before whirling his head around to see Wren sitting on the edge of the crow's nest.

"You must have really been lost in thought, Zoro-san." Wren said. "Anyone could have snuck up on you, and you wouldn't have known."

"You did." Zoro said.

Wren chuckled supposing she did, but she hadn't even been trying to speak up on him.

"Apologies." Wren said. "I only wanted to inform you that it is time for us to switch out."

Zoro nodded while guessing time had slipped away from him while was thinking. Zoro stood with Wren moving her legs, so he could go down the rope to the bottom. When he didn't go to leave, Wren looked up at him curiously.

"Oi, Wren," Zoro said.

"Hmm?" She hummed in question.

Zoro turned to look at her as she waited to hear what he had to say. It must be important since Zoro didn't go out of his way to make small talk.

"…Could you help me learn how to use flying slash attacks?" Zoro said. "I need to get stronger to reach my dream."

Zoro didn't like asking for help with his sword work. His time with his sensei being an exception though even then Zoro did a lot of training on his own too. But he knew if he wanted to go farther in this sea, he needed to become stronger. He couldn't be limited to only close up attacks since his enemy could use that weakness, and keep him at bay during fights meaning he'd lose. He couldn't lose.

"I will help you if that is what you want." Wren said nodding. "But you have to do something for me in return."

Zoro glanced at the woman wondering what she could want in return for training with him.

"You see, I plan to pick up two sword style again once I find a blade that Banshī cannot break with her tantrums." Wren said. "I would like you to help me recondition myself with using more than one sword."

Zoro grinned nodding his head. Sounded simple enough. Wren smiled in return as she nodded as well.

"Then I suppose we should have sparing sessions often." Wren said. "You have great talent, Zoro-san. With just a little help here and there you will definitely surpass me in the future for that I have no doubt."

Zoro seemed a bit surprised by Wren's words, but he made no comment. Wren just silently smiled while knowing her words to be true. It was obvious Zoro had the drive and talent to become the World's Greatest Swordsman, and Mihawk had to believe so as well. Wren did hear about Zoro's encounter with the Shichibukai. If Mihawk issued that challenge to Zoro, it meant Mihawk saw great talent in Zoro as well. There's no telling what Zoro might accomplish someday with his sword skills.

"Now, you better get some sleep." Wren said as she gestured for him to take his leave. "There is a long day of sailing ahead of us tomorrow."

Zoro just nodded before he left the crow's nest. Once he was gone and in the boy's room, Wren moved to sit down in the crow's nest. She looked up at the sky as she drew her knees close to her. It was going to be a long night, but she didn't mind. Her sleeping was atrocious anyway. She was still having nights where she couldn't even get a wink of sleep, and the bags were getting a bit more prominent on her face.

She's tried to get some sleep, but those dreams like to keep her up. The only plus side about little sleep is getting more done while she's awake. However, the more nights without sleep the less she can function properly. Though it is getting to the point that her body is too tired to be tired, if that made sense. It was as if her body gave up trying to tell her she was exhausted, so it's as if she feels nothing once she gets to this point of being sleep deprived. She let out a sleep knowing she'd have to find some way to get some shut eye. She might have to start drinking her _special_ tea again.

It was a blend of herbs that put her to sleep for a few hours, and when she wakes she can't even remember if she dreamed or not, which is how she liked it. However, she'd have to be careful when she takes it because once she's does, she's out onto the herbs wear out. That means if the crew happens to be attacked or something, she wouldn't be able to help. In fact, she'd be in the way since she wouldn't even be able to wake to move out of the way. But she couldn't keep going like this, so it wasn't as if she had a choice.

She wonders if Law has this problem. She was sure after everything he's seen that it's hard for him to sleep as well. If it easy for him she'd like to know his secret. Maybe she'll ask him if he has any tricks for sleeping once they meet up again.

"Niisan." Wren murmured. "I wonder where you are now."

She hoped where ever he was that he was safe. Well, as safe as a pirate can get while on these waters. She was sure his crew was looking out for him. This thought brought a smile to her face. She knew he would be safe as long as he had his crew with him. She would see him again. She just had to have a bit more patience. Now until then this crew had more adventures to go on. She knew this fun she was having wouldn't last forever, but until she had to say goodbye to it and them…she would savor every moment they have together.


	35. It's Raining Galleons!

Time passed for the Straw Hat Pirates—two weeks in fact—and things have been relatively peaceful. The crew had left the trade island two days ago since they decided to take a break there. Wren and Zoro spared everyday away from the others, so there were less distractions. Sanji had thrown a fit every time they went off together, but it wasn't as if they were doing anything wrong—just training.

Zoro was quickly picking up the proper technique for a flying flash attack, but it still had a few kinks. Like the fact, the attack sometimes nicks Zoro when being performed. But Wren had confidence it'd only take a few more tries for him to get it right. Now the crew was heading for their next destination, and if Wren's memory served her correctly then she was certain Jaya was their next stop.

"Hey, Wren,"

Wren, who had been reading a new book, looked up from where she sat to look at Nami.

"I'm been wanting how do you like that new outfit." Nami said smiling as she pointed at Wren.

Wren wore a simple pink dress shirt that was tucked into a black skirt that stopped mid-thigh. She then had on black tights and black heels on her feet. It wasn't as Victorian as some of the clothes she wears, but it was a nice outfit to be comfortable in.

"It is comfortable and I do like the colors." Wren said. "Thank-you, Nami-san, for the outfit."

Nami nodded feeling proud of herself for picking it out. Nami then looked towards Theodosia as the gypsy was wearing a simple loose yellow dress that had a brown belt around her torso, so it looked tighter around the middle than it actually was. The sleeves were off the shoulder and flowed down to her wrists were it tightened up. She then had on sandals on her feet and a red scarf around her neck.

"Theo looks cute too." Nami said grinning as Theodosia was playing with Samba. "It's hard to believe anyone would want to enslave someone like Theodosia. She's so kind and gentle."

Nami frowned just picturing those years of slavery that Theodosia had to have gone through. She had felt like a slave to Arlong, but she could imagine Theodosia went through a lot more than she ever did.

"Unfortunately it's the kind and gentle that suffer most in this world." Wren said as she put her eyes back onto her book. "It is unfair, but that is how things are. And Theodosia is a different person now, and while she did suffer she has gained strength and knowledge from that suffering."

Nami supposed that was true, but still. Nami wondered if Theodosia wished she could get rid of that mark on her shoulder. Nami then blinked when she felt something hit the top of her head. Wren was hit in the shoulder as well, which had both women glancing slightly up. The rest of the crew, who had been hit as well, were doing the same.

"Is that rain?" Zoro asked.

Wren held out her hand with a piece of what was falling dropping into her hand. She tilted her head seeing it was a small chunk wood. Why was this falling from the sky?

"No, this ain't rain." Sanji said as everyone tilted their head farther back to see what could be the cause.

Wren's widens partially when seeing a large galleon was falling from the sky right towards them.

"That's interesting." Sanji said. "It looks like a…oh."

Soon everyone realized just what was happening, which had most of them shouting in fright. The galleon then fell dangerously close to them that sent the ocean waters up high and sent the ship rocking. Wren and Nami jumped out of their chairs while trying to keep their feet. Smaller yet dangerous chunks of the galleon kept falling, which had the crew holding onto the Going Merry to keep from being thrown overboard.

"Grab a hold of something!" Zoro ordered. "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

Everyone was already doing that, but some tightened their holds on what they had grabbed. Theodosia then cried out as Samba was ripped out of her arms.

"Samba!" Theodosia yelled while trying to reach for her.

Samba screeched in fear while missing Theodosia's hand. Samba went tumbling across the deck as the Going Merry kept shaking. Theodosia went to let go of the railing beside the figurehead, which was what she was holding, to hurry after Samba, but the monkey was snatched up one of Robin's hands when she used her devil fruit abilities to grow more arms. Theodosia let out a sigh of relief as Robin's arms moved Samba over to her, so Robin could hold the monkey in her actual arms.

"I've got you." Robin said cradling the monkey.

Samba chittered while huddling in closer to Robin as the ship continued its shaking.

"Why are there ships falling out of the sky?!" Nami shouted over the noise.

No one had an answer for her, and Wren didn't think Chopper and Usopp heard her since they were being tossed around as they screamed. Wren reached out towards them, which meant letting go of what she had been holding. She managed to snag them from the air, and push them towards the railings, which they grabbed.

"Thanks, Wren!" They cried.

Wren nodded then gasped as she went rolling backwards as the ship tipped far to the other side.

"Wren!" Sanji called out in worry as Wren hit the other side of the ship.

She shook her head though managed to grab the side to keep her in one place. That had been too close for comfort.

"I know!" Usopp exclaimed. "This is just an awful dream!"

"Great, I love dreams!" Chopper said.

The two then slammed heads back accident when the ship jerked again, which had them groaning in pain. Wren winced knowing that had to hurt. She then blinked when feeling as if something was about to fall right on top of her. She turned her head with her eyes widening partially when seeing a large chunk of debris heading right at her.

"Wren-sama!" Theodosia cried out.

Wren was going to reach for her sword, but before she could, Sanji appeared in her line of sight to kick the debris away. He landed onto the ship while stumbling to his knees due to the rock of the boat. He practically fell into Wren who put up her arms to catch him. As her hands rested on his chest, Sanji pulled her close since he didn't want her slipping away from him.

"Thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said. "You weren't injured, were you?"

She didn't want him getting hurt just because he moved to help protect her. Sanji gave her a reassuring smile as he moved one arm to hold onto the side of the ship, so they didn't go rolling.

"I'm fine, my dear." Sanji said. "Are you?"

Wren nodded her head before looking up to see that they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Heads up!" Sanji shouted to the others when seeing the same. "I don't think the party's over yet. It won't stop falling!"

"The rudder!" Nami yelled at Zoro. "Turn the rudder."

The swordsman was the closest one to the rudder since he was just outside the room it was in. However, he was finding it difficult to move stand straight.

"That'll never work in these waves!" Zoro told her.

Nami frowned knowing that was true, but they couldn't just sit there and take this beating much longer.

"Luffy, you've got to protect the ship!" Sanji said. "She's taking a beating."

"Right!" Luffy said.

However, before he could do anything he was distracted by Usopp who was sitting on the deck in a meditating-like position.

"Ah, Usopp?" Luffy muttered in confusion.

Usopp didn't reply as he remained in place with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. Wren's brow quirked while not thinking this was the time to be taking up mediation.

"I cast aside my worries, and reach deep within to find my happy place." Usopp said. "And when I open my eyes, the serene landscape will be all that lays before me."

He opened his eyes hoping to see just that, but he nearly had a heart attack when seeing a skeleton instead. He screamed shrilly as the bones landed in his lap.

"A skeleton-dead guy!" Usopp cried before tossing the skeleton away.

It landed near Nami, which had her protesting as well about it being near her. She threw it away from her next, and it landed at Wren's feet. The former princess didn't even bat an eyelash at it as the others freaked out about it. Theodosia then let go of her railing to slide across the deck purposely. She made it over to where Samba and Robin were to look at the others.

"When is this stuff going to stop falling?!" She asked.

"I don't know!" Nami cried. "But I want it to now!"

* * *

After things finally calmed, the crew had a moment to catch their breaths. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji all gathered around the mast of the ship as Wren was holding a shaking Chopper to console him. Theodosia was trying to calm Usopp as well as he rocked back and forth on the deck while holding his knees to his chest. Nami was just trying to calm her nerves as Robin looked at the wreckage curiously from the safety of the deck.

"Okay, why did a ship just fall out of the sky?" Luffy asked.

"Captain error." Sanji suggested.

"The sky is clear, who knows?" Zoro said shrugging.

He was just glad it was over since that had all been a pain in the ass in his opinion.

"I knew coming to the Grand Line was a mistake!" Usopp whimpered. "It freaks me out! First, we travel over a ship graveyard and now they're falling out of the sky complete with skeletons!"

"It could have been worse." Wren said as she handed Chopper to Usopp. "Ships falling from the sky aren't exactly normal. However, anything is possible the farther in the Grand Line you go. I'd expect much worse as the journey continues."

Chopper and Usopp whimpered as they continued to hold onto each other. The Grand Line just got scarier in their opinion. The group then turned towards Nami when the young navigator gasped.

"What's wrong, Nami-san?" Sanji asked. "Problem?"

"Oh, no." Nami said. "The Log Pose is broken. It's pointing into the sky."

Wren's brow quirked when hearing that before she and Theodosia exchanged a glance.

"It's not broken." Robin said. "The Log Pose registers an island with a strong magnetic pull, and its needle is reflecting that."

Nami looked to Robin in confusion since that didn't make any sense to Nami. Islands don't float.

"If the needle is pointing towards the sky." Robin said. "Then it must be pointing towards Sky Island."

Theodosia looked towards Wren as the Nightmare Witch crossed her arms over her chest. Sky Island? Wren hasn't heard anyone mention that in a while. Ever since she the last time she passed through this area, and that had to be half a decade ago.

"Sky Island?!" The rest of the crew—minus Theodosia and Wren—exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Nami asked.

She still felt very skeptical since there shouldn't be such a thing as a sky island.

"There's a floating island up there?!" Luffy asked.

"If there is one, it's full of skeletons and rickety old ships!" Usopp said as he and Chopper continued to cower.

"That's ridiculous." Zoro said as he looked up. "I don't see anything but sky."

"Just because you don't see something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist." Theodosia said. "There are tons of things out on the ocean that most people haven't discovered yet that have been around longer than probably any of us were ever thought about and longer than that as well."

Zoro didn't comment though he supposed he couldn't argue with that. However, he still didn't believe in Sky Island.

"And from what I hear it's more like a whole other ocean is above us than just one island." Theodosia continued.

"Yes, that's right, Gypsy-san." Robin said nodding.

Chopper, Usopp, Luffy, and even Samba, who was sitting on Chopper's hat, gasped in awe as they leaned forward to hear more.

"I'm still confused." Sanji said.

He didn't understand a bit of what Robin and Theodosia was saying. He then glanced at Wren who was more knowledgeable than all of them about the Grand Line. She should be able to tell them. However, she remained silent as she stood at the edge of the crew just listening.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered. "Raise the sails and set our course for Sky Island! Men, are we ready?!"

"Put the rudder down and point the bow high into the sky!" Usopp added.

They both then cheered for Sky Island, but they were silenced when Wren bonked them both on the tops of their heads. They both whined while crouching down to hold their heads.

"It isn't that simple." Wren said with a small sigh.

Everyone turned towards Wren as she stood behind the two boys who were whining about their heads.

"If it was, don't you think people would have been talking about it more?" Wren asked.

Usopp, who finally recovered from his aching head, looked to Wren with a question in mind.

"Are you saying the Sky Island exist?" Usopp asked. "I mean, you didn't say it was impossible to get there."

Wren sighed as she sat down on the side of the ship while crossing one leg over the other.

"Many people say Sky Island is just a legend." Wren said. "A dream someone dreamt that became a story told to dreaming pirates who lived in a fantasy. However, the farther you get in the Grand Line their is more reason to prove the existence of islands above us in the clouds."

Wren remembers reading about an upcoming rookie in the paper named Mad Monk Urouge. Apparently he was man from the sky, and lived on a sky island. Then there people who supposedly visited some of the sky islands and came back down to regal their tales to others. Though Wren has never met those people. Just heard stories from other people who knew someone who knew someone who knew the person who traveled to a sky island.

"What do you believe?" Nami asked. "Do you think it exists?"

"Hmm, it's hard to say." Wren said. "I suppose, I never really cared if it did or not. I never chose to belief it did or didn't exist. I will say it is not impossible considering all the strange and magnificent things you find on the Grand Line, but all I know of the sky islands is stories based through chains of people. There's no telling how much is fact and how much is fiction."

And Wren is a woman who loves her facts, which is another reason why she never really pursued getting information on the sky islands.

"That is true." Robin said. "All I know about Sky Island is word of mouth. I've never seen it either."

Theodosia hasn't either, but ever since hearing about it for the first time, she's always wanted to try and find it. To see if it really does exist.

"Of course, not." Nami said. "Because it's a lie. Islands don't float in the sky. Our Log Pose is broken. That's all it is."

"Tut, tut, Nami-san." Wren said wagging her finger at Nami. "You are making a rookie mistake that most navigators do on these waters. A kind of mistake that could get a crew killed."

Nami's eyes widened at Wren's words while wondering what she was doing wrong.

"You never doubt your Log Pose." Wren said. "No matter, which direction it tells you to go, you trust it completely and without question."

"Princess-san is right." Robin said nodding. "You are trying to fix something that isn't even broken. We should be trying to find a way to Sky Island. You really need to trust your instruments, or you will do exactly as Princess-san warned."

Nami frowned as she looked at the Log Pose. She knew Wren and Robin both have both been on these waters much longer than her. But it couldn't be possible for an island to float above them.

"That needle is pointing towards an island." Robin said. "I'd bet my life on it."

"Then I suppose we better start learning what we can then if we plan to get there." Wren said. "Robin-san, as an archeologist, I'm sure one of our new skeletal friends could be of service to you."

Robin looked to Wren with a small smile as she nodded her head. Nami, Usopp, and Chopper gave the two disturbed looks. Wren snapped her fingers with two of those monster monkeys appearing.

"Please, find a skeleton in good enough shape for Robin-san to examine." Wren said.

The monkeys hooted in understand before going to do as they were ordered to do.

"You can't be serious!" Nami said.

"Oh, I assure you, Nami-san, I am _deadly_ serious." Wren said smirking at her own joke.

Nami gave Wren a look that told the older woman that Nami didn't appreciate her joke. Wren continued to smirk while feeling a bit interested in what was to come. Perhaps she would finely see if this island amongst the clouds was true. A paradise amongst dreams. Oh, what a place it must be.

* * *

Wren stood behind Robin as the older woman was putting together a skull from the remains the Goliath Gorillas had brought. They had managed to find a coffin that had a full skeleton inside even if it wasn't in the best of shapes. However, Robin said it would work just fine, so Wren sent the monkeys away as Robin got started. As things progressed, Chopper and Nami hid behind the mast as Zoro stood off to the side. Only Sanji and Wren got close enough to watch Robin's work curiously.

"That's disgusting—digging through a dead man's clothes." Chopper said.

"Sometimes to get the information being sought after, a few unpleasant things must be done in return." Wren said wisely then added almost like an afterthought. "This isn't the worst thing I've witnessed nor done to get information."

Chopper frowned not wanting to think about all the things Wren has done in her life to get what she wants. It's probably a bunch of scary things that would give him nightmares.

"That's really going to tell ya something?" Zoro asked as Robin continued working.

"Don't know." Robin said.

"You're into some pretty weird stuff, Robin." Nami said.

"Any lady with a fascination for dead things is interesting in my book." Sanji said.

Wren subconsciously threw a frown in Sanji direction without realizing it before she put her attention back to Robin.

"She could have weirder hobbies." Wren said shrugging. "Besides, there is nothing wrong with wanting to understand and know history. I quite admire archeologist."

Robin paused in her work for a split second at Wren's words before getting back to for a moment later without commenting.

"Hmm, where'd Luffy go?" Zoro suddenly asked when realizing their captain was missing.

"Luffy-sama, Usopp-san, and Theodosia are over in the sinking wreckage." Wren said without looking up.

Zoro frowned before turning his head to see Wren was right. The three idiots—plus one monkey—were scurrying around the ship wreck as if it wasn't sinking down into the ocean. He knew things wouldn't end well if Luffy and Theodosia didn't get back to the Going Merry before the wreckage sunk too far.

"What kind of trouble are those three getting themselves into now?" Zoro asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"Probably the bad kind." Chopper said.

The two turned back to Robin as she set down a completed skull down onto the deck. Wren tilted her head when seeing three puncture wounds at the top of the skull. Seems as if someone had taken some kind of medical took to this man's skull. However, Wren was unfamiliar with what kind of procedure called for puncturing someone's skull like that. Of course, she wasn't a doctor by trade. She just knew enough to handle minor wounds and sickness.

"Hey, looks good as new." Sanji said.

"Except from the holes on the crown." Robin said. "Those came from an external source."

"Oh, yeah." Sanji said. "It looks as if it could have been arrows or a spear or something."

"Unlikely." Wren said.

Sanji glanced up at her as she was looking at the skull with a concentrated look on her face.

"Arrows or a spear wouldn't have left such clean holes." Wren said. "There would be more damage to the skull if that was it. Also, a spear head is much larger. Furthermore, I believe this was done by some kind of medical procedure."

It was silent for a moment as the others kind of just looked at Wren. She blinked wondering what she had said that had been so wrong. Robin then chuckled again.

"You're right, Princess-san." Robin said. "Very good."

"Wren-chan is so smart." Sanji swooned as he clasped his hands together. "I love a woman with brains and beauty."

Wren actually felt a heat flood towards her cheeks at his words but she ignored the feeling as she tried to focus on Robin and her work. She mentally scolded herself since it wasn't like that was the first time Sanji ever complimented her.

"As Princess-san said, these holes are from a medical procedure." Robin said. "The procedure is known as cartelization, right doctor?"

Chopper nodded his head from where he was backwards hiding behind the mast of the ship with Nami.

"Mm-hmm, an ancient one." Chopper said. "They cut out a small hole in the skull to remove a foreign mass like a tumor. And since it leaves a crater behind that's how you get the name."

So this man had succumb to illness. Wren glanced at a few of the other stray bones wondering how they all died. She highly doubted it was from illness as well. Because tumors were usually caused by some kind of illness that wasn't contagious. Meaning these men had to have died in some other fashion.

"Knowing how old of a technique this is, I'd say this man has been dead at least 200 years." Robin said. "I can also say with confidence this man was in his early thirties when he died. It must have been during his voyage that he finally succumb to the illness. Whatever it was. Much more than the rest of his bones, his teeth have remained in surprisingly good condition. Because he rubbed tar on them. It was a common practice in the South Blue to keep out bacterial infections. And considering the history of that region, I suspect he was with an exploratory party."

Wren had to admit she was impressed with how much information Robin could get out of one skull. It truly was fascinating.

"That is about all I can get out of this skull." Robin said. "Some books on the area this ship came from would be useful. However, I don't believe I have anything on exploratory ships of the South Blue."

"You can look through my selection if you'd like to see any of those books will help you." Wren said. "I have two chests full of books down below. Most of them on history of the different seas. Including the South Blue."

The crew looked at Wren in surprised since they didn't expect her offer help to Robin even when the two have been getting along better. And they didn't know she liked history.

"Knowledge is power." Wren said. "Knowing the past and present can sometimes help predict the future. Besides, you do remember before I joined a pirate crew that I was a princess of an entire kingdom, yes? It means I had a very expensive education, which included history of all Four Blues. I was taught much about exploratory and trading ships. I still have a few of the old books my tutor made me read."

Wren remembers Madame LeBeau very well. The woman was a menace, and loved hitting her and Abel both on the back of the wrists with rulrs. She said it was because Wren and Abel were unruly students, but Wren is certain that old crone was just a sadist.

"Thank-you." Robin said as she stood. "The books should help us discover more about this man's death."

"Of course." Wren said. "I'll have the chests brought up now."

Wren snapped her fingers with nothing happening a first, but soon her favorite squad of monster monkeys appeared through the doorway as they carried two large chests. They set then in front of Robin while popping them open. Robin's eyes widened at the collection in front of her while kneeling down to get a better look. Just the books she could see on the surface were amazing. She wondered what other kinds of books were below the first row.

"Use any of them you need." Wren said. "Some of them might be a bit dusty. I haven't touched some of them ever since leaving Doflamingo's crew."

Wren couldn't take everything she owned from Doflamingo since she had to be quick about leaving. She didn't want anyone getting suspicious about her taking all her things with her on her next "assignment", but she had managed to take some important things like her book collection—part of it anyway.

And some clothes and two of her tea sets, and her collection of den-den mushi. She really needed to find a proper place for them since they couldn't continue living in her trunk, which she leaves open for them to get fresh air. She needs like an office to work from. Once she sets it up, it'll be easier for her to get back into the game and contact her "pawns" more easily.

She couldn't get distracted from her goal no matter how much fun she was having with her crew. After searching for a moment, Robin found a book that should have been able to help her. She flipped through the pages as some of the crew gathered around.

"Here it is." Robin said landing on a page that had an image of the ship. "The Briss Kingdom of the South Blue. They launched the St. Briss as a scout ship 208 years ago."

"That's it!" Nami exclaimed. "That's the ship that fell on us."

"Yeah, I recognize that figurehead up front." Zoro added.

Wren was certain no one would forget a figurehead like that. Especially if it came towards as it fell from the sky about to crush you and your crewmates along with your ship.

"It's probably sailed the seas above us unmanned since the captain and crew died." Robin said.

"It's amazing what you can tell by looking at old bones." Nami said.

"I'm sure you've heard that dead men tell no tales, right?" Robin said. "But everything around them does. If this was a scouting party, we should find evidence of that on the St. Briss."

"Yeah," Nami said while glancing to the side. "Except it's sinking like a stone."

She then gasped when seeing Luffy was drowning in the water, and Theodosia and Samba were clinging to Usopp for protection as the water got closer as the ship sunk further.

"What are you doing, you idiots?!" Nami demanded. "You two can't swim!"

Wren sighed shaking her head as Theodosia cried for help before she drowned. Wren sometimes couldn't take her eyes off any of her informants. The only ones to never cause her trouble like this were Lily and Valentine. Even Raelin had her moments of stupidity that caused some kind of trouble for Wren or the group.

"So who is going in for them?" Wren asked. "Usopp-san can't carry them both back at once, and one of them would drown by the time he could go back for a second trip."

The crew sighed though Zoro stepped up while removing his swords to hand over to Wren. She held them in her arms as the swordsman jumped overboard into the water. He quickly swam over to the two anchors as Theodosia finally hit the water with Usopp. In her panic she let go of the sniper, which had her sinking like a rock.

"Theo!" Usopp called out in worry.

Samba cried out for her mistress while remaining on Usopp's head since the monkey couldn't swim either, so she knew she'd only cause more trouble if she dove in.

"Shit!" Zoro cursed then swam faster. "Usopp, get Luffy to take him and Samba back to the ship! I'll get Theo!"

Usopp nodded his head doing as he was told as Zoro dived under the water once he got close enough. He swam quickly towards the sinking gypsy. Zoro reached out managing to snag her wrist to stop her from sinking further. He tugged her up to wrap one of his arms around her before he used his other arm and his feet to get them to the surface as fast as possible. Once their heads reached the top, Zoro took a quick gasp full of air into his lungs. He looked to Theodosia who groaned slightly as she was coming to. She lifted her head with her gold eyes meeting his dark ones.

"You're a lot of trouble." Zoro said. "I hope you know that."

"I-I-I'm sorry." Theodosia stuttered weakly as her cheeks turned bright red.

Zoro shook his head then swam them both back to the Going Merry. They were helped on board by their crewmates, and as soon as they were safe and sound, Wren gave Zoro back his swords.

"I hope you both learnt your lesson." Wren said. "I never want to see either of you exploring _sinking_ ships again, understood?"

As Theodosia nodded her head while feeling bad for what she had done. Luffy just let out a laugh.

"But, Wren!" He said. "I did it!"

Wren's brow quirked wondering what he had done besides cause trouble and nearly drown. The rest of his crew was wondering the same as Luffy looked up with a grin on his face.

"I found the most incredible thing!" Luffy said then unrolled a map.

Everyone gasped when seeing it was some kind of map to a place known as Skypiea. Could it be? Could it be a map of Sky Island?

* * *

Coco: There you have it! Another chapter and the start of the Jaya Arc. Remember at the end of this arc will be another SBS, so please send in your questions!


	36. The King of all Salvagers--Masira!

"Well, this is certainly all getting interesting." Wren said as Nami was looking at the map.

Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp were dancing behind them and singing about Sky Island as Nami wasn't looking so sure.

"Hold on, guys." Nami said. "We don't know how to get there, or if it's even possible. Not to mention, there are a lot of fake treasure maps in circulation."

Her words instantly brought the singing and dancing to a stop, and Wren sweat-dropped at the overly-dramatic sullen expressions on the boys' faces.

"No, I mean, sure it's real!" Nami tried to back track when seeing their faces. "It's gotta be because—well, just cause!"

Her mood then changed as she hit the side of the mast hard. Wren stood back watching as she and Luffy got into an argument about getting to Sky Island. Wren wasn't sure how they would do it either. She didn't have a creature who could carry them and the ship up into the clouds. And she was certain leaving the ship behind was a bad idea. If there was not only islands about them then that meant they'd need a boat to sail on the seas above them as well. They were certainly in a pickle about reaching their next adventure. Wren then looked back to the arguing pair after Nami used her fist to shut Luffy up.

"This isn't about me." Nami said. "It's about reality. And the reality is we know next to nothing. What we do know is that we can't defy gravity, and sail upwards! That's impossible! What we need is more information. If a big ship like that made it up there, the odds are we can do the same thing! We just have to find all the records left on that ship."

Sounded like a plan. However, the ship Nami was speaking off was currently out of their reach.

"I think the ship's at the bottom of the ocean by now." Usopp said.

"My thoughts exactly." Wren said.

"If it's sunk, we'll salvage it!" Nami declared.

As Wren gave the redhead a blank look, Usopp and Luffy readied their fishing poles and nets in preparation.

"Salvage!" They both cheered raising their fists.

Theodosia blinked at them wondering if they realized that was a bit impossible for them to do. They didn't have the proper equipment, and the ship was too small to lift such a galleon from the waters anyway.

"We can't do that!" Zoro snapped at them.

The two didn't seem to hear him, which had the vein in his forehead pulsing out of aggravation. He really didn't understand these idiots sometimes.

"Salvage?" Chopper asked "Really?"

"Yeah, but we couldn't pull a ship out from the bottom." Robin said. "I think they'll have to come up with a more refined plan."

Robin and Chopper then looked to Wren as she hummed at cupped her chin thoughtfully.

"If we can't bring the wreckage up to us, perhaps we can go down to the wreckage." Wren said. "At least the ones of us able to swim."

She looked to Sanji and Zoro as she said this with an _innocent_ smile on her face. Zoro frowned not buying the innocent look for one second while Sanji giggled with that goofy grin on his face.

"I'll do anything for you, Wren-chan!" Sanji said spinning around. "Whatever you want~"

Zoro rolled his eyes at the blonde as Wren chuckled at Sanji in amusement. She tapped his chin in an affectionate manner, which nearly turned the chef into a puddle of elated goo.

"Of course, we can't send you down there without some way to ensure you have air to breath." She said before looking to Usopp. "I'm sure Usopp-san can come up with something to help with that, however."

Usopp blinked curiously while noticing that Nami was looking at him as well as if she was thinking the same as Wren. He gulped while starting to feel the pressure. He just hopes he can do whatever they have planned.

* * *

Wren smiled standing back with the others as they looked to the three who bravely volunteered to go down into the water to retrieve documents from the ship. They were all wearing some invention of Usopp's that would act like diving gear for them. Luffy seemed very pleased with all of it as he let out a laugh.

"This is adventure." Luffy said. "I know I've done more dangerous things, but I can't remember what."

Zoro just growled in aggravation since he wasn't pleased with any of this. In fact, he hadn't really volunteered. Wren, who was being pushy as usual, practically forced him into this barrel.

"Wren-chan, Nami-san, I swear to find you the answers you seek, or I will refuse to return." Sanji declared.

Wren and Nami shared amused smirks before looking back to the three boys getting ready to depart.

"We will be sure to hold you to that, Sanji-san." Wren said.

"Yeah, so you better keep your promise." Nami added with a wink.

Nami then giggled as Wren let out a small chuckle of amusement. Theodosia smiled at her mistress while thinking it was nice to see Wren being so carefree for a change.

"You'll be safe." Usopp said. "Those barrels are my special design. They've never been busted."

Just then a fish larger than the Going Berry jumped out of the water to snatch a Pterodactyl from the sky. Usopp and Chopper looked at it with wide and frightened eyes as Theodosia was glad she wasn't going down there. Not that she could to begin with.

"Well, good luck." Nami said. "Be careful."

"Try not to be eaten." Wren added.

Zoro rolled his eyes at the two since it was easy for them to sound so carefree. They weren't going into the water. He then stepped onto the railing before jumping in with Luffy not too far behind him. Sanji, however, paused to look to Wren.

"How about a kiss for good luck before I go, darling?" He asked with hearts in his eyes.

Wren chuckled at his antics while starting to get more and more used to them. Though she still felt her cheeks warm at his request. But she supposed she could give him a little something.

"I will make you a deal, Sanji-san." Wren said. "If you come back in one piece, and with something we can use to try and learn how to reach Sky Island, I will reward you with a kiss."

Sanji felt his heart stop for a second as he froze in bliss. His beloved Wren would give him a kiss upon his return? Wren chuckled at his frozen state before using one finger to tip him overboard into the water. Over the small listening device connected to the barrels, the crew heard Sanji give a love struck cheer, which had some chuckling coming from the females of the crew. Wren then looked to Nami noticing the grin on her face.

"You and Sanji seem to be getting close." Nami commented. "Very close."

"I suppose we are." Wren said causally while trying to ignore how her cheeks warmed at what Nami was implying.

She left it at that, and even if she hadn't said much, Nami giggled noting the slight pink shade to Wren's cheeks. Chopper, who was in heavy point, and Usopp manned the breathing device with Samba's help as she jumped up and down on the peddle that pumped down the air.

"This is Chopper here." Chopper said. "Can you guys call off?"

"This is Luffy, and there's a ton of monsters down here." Luffy said.

Of course he sounded excited about it all, which had Wren's lips twitching up in amusement.

"We're on a nest of Giant Sea Snakes." Zoro clarified.

"This is Sanji, and they're staring at me." Sanji finished.

He didn't sound scared exactly by this, but obviously not pleased in the slightest.

"Keep going." Nami ordered.

"They could die." Usopp squeaked.

Theodosia was worried as well since she didn't want anything to happen to any of them. They were her friends after all.

"They'll be fine, Usopp." Nami said. "Don't worry."

Usopp didn't look convinced though he was super glad he wasn't in one of those barrels.

"And, Chopper, hold that break tightly." Nami ordered.

"I'm so glad they didn't make me go." Usopp said.

"I wish I could have joined them." Wren said.

The group looked at her in shock as she looked down at the water with smile on her face. It was one that Theodosia hasn't seen in a while. One of wonder and curiosity.

"To see what a ship that came from the sky holds in person would certainly be interesting." Wren said as she looked to the crew. "What wonders could it possibly hold? Does it have tales left behind that document the crew's adventures? It's something new and exciting. Who wouldn't want to see it all themselves?"

Whenever the Sky Islands were brought up before, Wren mostly brushed the off since there wasn't enough proof for her to give it much interest. She let sailors tell their tales from tales they've heard from others, and while it all sounded wondrous, there was no telling how much of it was true. To her there had been no point in spending too much time thinking about something that might not even exist. Though now the log pose is pointing skyward and a ship just came from there. Who knows what could possibly awaiting them above the clouds?

"I have to agree with you, Princess-san." Robin said with her own version of a smile. "It certainly would be a sight to see firsthand."

Nami looked between the two older women while noticing the tension between them when Robin first joined was gone. It seems as if the two have common interests, and that they've somewhat bonded over them. A few more minutes passed in silence. A silence that was broken when Wren and Theodosia both shifted while grabbing the hilts of their weapons, which made a slight clinking noise.

"What?" Usopp asked looking nervous. "What is it?"

Wren just tapped her ear to signal everyone to listen closely. As the crew listened, they picked up the sound of distant chanting along with whistles and percussion. The sound was getting closer, and the crew was looking around for what was making the sound.

"A large sailing vessel is heading this way with a large crew." Wren said. "They'll be coming into view soon. Theodosia, prepare for an attack if these people prove unfriendly."

"Yes, Wren-sama." Theodosia said nodding.

She then ran towards the back of the ship with Samba going with her, which meant Usopp had to take over the pumping to give the boys air. As she got ready to get into position, a large ship with a monkey theme came into view. Nami, Usopp, and Chopper looked nervous as Wren and Theodosia prepared to fight if necessary. While Theodosia jumped up into Nami's tangerine trees to hide, Wren remained with the crew taking on a casual stance though her arm rested on the hilt of her sword—ready to draw at a moment's notice. Wren was right when she said there were many men on the ship, and most of them were banging cymbals and chanting as someone blew a whistle.

"Company, halt!" A loud voice ordered.

The ship came to a stop with the chanting and cymbal banging coming to halt as well. Good thing too since all that distasteful racket was starting to grate on Wren's nerves.

"Aye, aye, sir!" The men shouted obediently.

"Are we on top of the place where the ship sank?!" The first voice—the voice of the captain obviously—asked.

"Aye, aye, Captain, sir!" The men replied once more.

Wren's brow quirked as the captain came into view. He looked more like a monkey than a human. Even more like a monkey that Luffy was.

"When they're saying captain and sir, they're talking about me!" The captain declared loudly as he stood up on the railing. "Prepare to raise the ship. What lies on the bottom now belongs to the king of all salvagers—Captain of the Masira Pirates! Masira!"

His men hooted around like monkeys in reply while raising and flailing around their weapons.

"Great, a boat of unstable men led by an unstable monkey." Nami said.

"I was just thinking they were a group of uneducated Neanderthals." Wren said. "Which would explain why they're letting the unstable and annoyingly loud holler monkey lead them."

Nami nodded in agreement as Usopp looked at both of them wishing they'd keep quiet before they angered the monkey and his Neanderthals. They all looked too big and scary to fight even with Wren and Theodosia here to protect the ship.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Masira, who finally noticed them, asked. "In case you didn't know, all these waters belong to me."

Wren said nothing though her lips turned up into a slight smirk. Belonged to him, huh? It's been a long time since she's showed someone just how easily that statement could become false. Pirates in these waters like to talk big and claim territory, but sometimes—if not most of the time—they're all just talk. Wren's starting to wonder if Masira can protect this territory he has self-proclaimed to be his.

"They do?" Nami asked.

"Yeah," Masira replied. "That's right. Every vessel that sinks in these parts automatically becomes mine. You're not trying to take anything that belongs to me, are ya?"

Wren, Nami, and Robin all exchanged a glance while all three thinking the exact same thing. This could be beneficial to them.

"So he's going to raise it to the surface?" Robin murmured. "Easier for us."

"But not for the three guys already in the water." Usopp said.

"If these monkey men try to make any trouble for our boys, I'll show them what trouble really is." Wren said.

Usopp gulped already feeling bad for the men on the ship that had no idea about the demon the Going Merry had on her deck. If those men weren't careful, they wouldn't be salvaging anything anymore.

"Let's just all keep our mouths shut and let him do it." Nami said finally.

"Stop mumbling and answer me!" Masira snapped. "Are you people trying to snag one of my salvages out from under me?"

"Does it seem as if we have the equipment to salvage anything let alone the large galleon that just sank?" Wren asked.

Her logical question brought pause to the men on the opposite vessel, and Wren could tell it's been a while since they've had to think hard about anything.

"Besides, we'd just love to watch you tough, good-looking men salvage that ship." Nami added with a wink. "Are you going to?"

Masira looked taken back by Nami's compliment before let out a low whistle while running his hand across his face. He then grinned looking very flattered.

"Thank-you." He said giving a thumbs up. "I see you know what a real man looks like."

Wren held back an eye roll since it would be unladylike to do so, and this monkey man wasn't worth the effort it took to roll her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked keeping that innocent tone.

"You called us all tough and good-looking that includes me." Marisa explained.

"Well, of course." Nami said.

She then lightly elbowed Wren while giving the ex-princess a look that told her to play along. Wren sighed though supposed she could. That way no fighting had to break out. Though that made things a bit dull in her opinion.

"We know a handsome man when we see one." Wren said with a flirtatious tone.

"Stop, you're making me blush." Masira said rubbing the back of his head.

It was almost too sad at how easy this was. Just a few more sweet words, and he'd hand then over the sunken galleon gift wrapped.

"This is disturbing." Usopp whispered to his crewmates before raising his voice. "So are you going to salvage that thing or what?"

They did need it brought up to the surface to get more information from him. However, he was still worried about Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro who were heading down to the wreckage now.

"Of course!" Masira said. "I'm not the King of all Salvagers for nothing! If there's a sunken ship before me, I'll salvage it! If it's not sunk, I'll sink it, and salvage it later! Listen, I know how impressed you are, but we have to save it. There's salvaging at hand!"

Wren could really see if loves his work, and if he really does sink ships to salvage them, she and Theodosia, who was remaining hidden, would have to remain on guard. Wren glanced towards the tangerine trees where Theodosia was hiding to catch a quick glance of her and Samba. Theodosia nodded in understanding then made herself even more invisible amongst the trees.

"Loser," Nami said under her breath then addressed Masira. "Do you mind if we watch you big, strong men work?"

"Don't tell me you've never seen a professional salvage before." Masira said.

Wren has actually. Some of her underlings back on Dressrosa were professional salvagers, and were brought in when Wren needed to get information from ships and other sunken objects. So they'd bring them up for Wren where she and her information gathering team could collect what they needed from the objects. Wren didn't say this though as she grinned at Masira.

"Unfortunately, we haven't." Wren said. "Could you fine gentlemen show us how it's done?"

She gave a sweet smile as she asked, which had multiple men blushing. Nami grinned towards Wren since her acting was really helping them out. Nami knew Wren had it in her.

"Well, of course!" Masira said laughing. "You just watch us until your heart's content!"

Nami and Wren exchanged a look with Nami winking towards the older woman.

"That's that." Nami said. "Now we just have to wait and see what happens."

Wren nodded in agreement before she looked back towards the ship. There was a presence on there that was weak as if the person had been injured greatly. No, there were a few presences that felt weak. Someone must have done a number on them.

"Captain, we have a problem!" One of Masira's men called out.

"What is it?" Masira asked.

"Something happened to the guys who went under the water to set the cradle!" The subordinate explained.

Wren frowned already feeling she knew what that something was. Or rather who that something was. In fact, there were three somethings.

"Was it one of the Sea Kings again?" Masira asked.

Wren was already shaking her head because she knew it couldn't have been one of those large sea snakes beneath them that the boys reported. Nami was looking at Wren with dread on her face because the redhead also had a feeling on who got ahold of those men.

"I don't think so." The man reported. "It looks like someone went to town on them with their fists!"

Yep, that had to be Luffy's doing. Even Zoro's doing if he didn't draw his weapons. Then if there were any boot marks on them, Sanji got a hold of them too. Leave it to the plays not to play nice.

"What?!" Masira demanded. "You mean someone else besides our guys are done there?!"

Nami and Usopp gulped knowing this couldn't be good as Wren let out a sigh while shaking her head.

"Well, it seems as if things will be coming down to a fight." Wren said under her breath, so only her crew could hear. "On the bright side, if we get rid of Masira and his men, we can use their ship's equipment to raise the galleon. They'll have no need for it once they're the ones sinking to the bottom of the ocean, yes?"

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all looked at Wren with wide eyes as she gave an almost chilling smile. Wren's scary. Very scary. Robin chuckled in amusement while wondering what would happen next. If it was a fight, she would help Wren and Theodosia. However, they might not need to in the end.

"Listen up you!" Masira called down to the Straw Hat pirates, which had Nami and Usopp jumping in fright. "There's someone else down there, so be careful!"

"Oh, sure." Nami said with a nervous laugh.

Wren nearly pinched her nose and groaned at how stupid this monkey man was, but supposed his stupidity did play in their favor. She was actually usually fond of the stupid almost as much as she was of Chatty Kathys because it made her job so much easier. However, at the same time it was annoying to know there was so much stupid in the world. There was almost more of it than corruption.

"I want all hands setting the cradle!" Masira ordered. "The ship comes up in twenty minutes. We've got salvaging to do!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" His men replied loyally.

As his men got to work, Masira turned to wave at the Straw Hats with a large grin on his face.

"Okay, he's waving at us." Nami said. "Smile and wave back, I guess. Just ask normal."

"Doing my best." Usopp said.

They boy waved towards Masira while the rest of the crew didn't even bother. Masira then got his men to work even harder while sending more men into the water. Wren hoped they didn't come back up beaten and bruised. That might cause trouble.

"These guys really take their salvaging seriously, don't they?" Usopp asked.

"I think they're showing off because their captain has a crush on Wren and me." Nami said.

"It could be more than that, Nami-san." Wren said.

Usopp and Nami looked at Wren closely as she was cupping her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"There has to be a reason why these men take their job so seriously, and why Masira-san claims these waters." Wren said. "They have to be looking for something important. Something so important that they'd be ready to fight anyone they might think could be a threat of finding it first."

Robin hummed because that did make sense to her, and if they happened to be looking for answers of Sky Island as well, whatever else these men might have salvaged over time could be very important.

"These men might be our competition on who finds answers to Sky Island first." Wren said as Masira and his men continued to lower the cradle into the water. "It's a possibility at least, which means we better hope the boys find the better half of information left behind in the galleon."

If they didn't, Masira and his men would have the good stuff, which simply wouldn't do. It means, Wren and the others would have to fight for it, which she doesn't mind doing. She's had to fight to get information before. However, things were always much easier if the information could be stolen out from underneath someone's nose since then things weren't as time consuming. However, the boys down below didn't know they had competition. Furthermore, they weren't trained like Wren's former subordinates who knew exactly what to look for when gathering information like this. Wren was brought out of her thought's when Luffy's voice came up from the communication device Usopp made.

"What was—?!" Luffy's voice was cut off when Usopp quickly put his hand over the opening.

Masira turned to look at them suspiciously, but Usopp went to quickly cover up what just happened by asking a question.

"So, uh, why such a big monkey?!" Usopp asked while pointing. "There on the bow of the ship!"

"Oh that?" Masira asked while grinning. "You like? It's a special prowl I designed to aid in our salvages. Just watch."

The Cowardly Trio all let out sighs of relief when they managed to get through that without Masira figuring out they had their own men in the water.

"You're gonna love this." Masira said. "Lower the barco hunter!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" They said.

The men started to lower the prowl of the ship while chanting monkey repeatedly while doing so. Wren had to admit to being a bit impressed when the prowl left the ship by the large ropes it was attached to then completely dropped into the water. Masira could obviously make an excellent shipwright if he wasn't already a salvager. Though his taste in design was awful to say the least.

"Wow, awesome!" Chopper said.

"Totally amazing!" Usopp agreed.

"Are you kidding?" Nami asked.

She hoped they were because that all seemed rather silly to her. Especially that giant monkey. Once getting confirmation from the underwater team, Masira grabbed large tube as he grinned widely.

"Excellent!" Masira said. "Now it's time for me to blow!"

His men cheered in agreement while even throwing confetti, which all seemed a bit too much in Wren's opinion. However, she kept her mouth shut.

"Wait, there's no way." Nami said as Masira was taking a big breath. "He's actually going to bring up his breath to bring up that ship? That's ridiculous."

"Well, he might just have enough hot air to do it." Wren said. "He does seem to have it in abundance."

Nami sweat-dropped supposing that was true. They then watched as Masira blew into the tube with a large pocket of air traveling through it. It went down into the water out of sight, and Masira kept blowing until one of the men from the underwater team reported it was off the sea floor. After that, Masira let his men pump air into the tube to continue raising the ship and feeling it with air. Though he was using a pump now, it was a bit impressive how he raised the ship from the floor with his own air.

"Now we just have to wait." Wren said as Masira ordered his men to keep pumping air. "Hopefully the boys won't cause any trouble before the ship is out of the water."

She spoke too soon since a second later a cry came from the underwater team. She let out a hum supposing it was foolish to hope nothing would go wrong. Especially when the three who causes the most trouble is underwater.

"Captain, there's a problem with the underwater crew!" A man reported.

"What?!" Masira demanded. "Talk to me! What's happening down there?! Is it the intruders?!"

"Yes, sir!" One reported. "They're in the ship!"

He then cried out in pain as Wren supposed there was no helping things now. A fight was bound to break out at this point. Masira let out a roar of anger as he stepped up on the side of the ship while holding up his fists.

"How dare you lay a hand on my hardworking men, Intruders?!" Masira shouted.

While some might be impressed with his love for his men and his ferocity, Wren wasn't in the slightest. In fact, she was even more unimpressed by the fact, Masira had posed for pictures with his men holding up an intense background to add affect.

"Uh, you know, we're not going to take your picture or anything." Nami said.

"You're not?!" Masira asked in surprise.

Wren shook her head wondering why he even thought they were going to in the first place.

"He was giving us a photo up?" Usopp asked in disbelief.

"Seems that way." Wren said.

Usopp shook his head then caught the sound of more of Masira's men crying in pain. He sighed wishing the Monster trio would learn to cool it. This wasn't helping them at all.

"I'll be right down!" Masira said then turned to the others. "Continue with the salvaging operation men."

"Aye, aye, sir!" The men said.

He then jumped into the water as the Straw Hats up on the surface watched him go. Wren frowned hoping the boys would be alright. However, she then stiffened when sensing a large mass heading their way from below.

"Something's coming and it's something big." Wren warned her crew as her hand rested on the hilt of her sword.

Usopp, Nami, and Chopper all stiffened while looking at Wren as she moved to the side of the ship to look down. Her eyes widened slightly while seeing what she was looking at—or at least its shadow casted form—looked to be the size of a small island. The others noticed it as well while becoming more freaked out. The ships then started to shake caused by this thing's body disturbing the waves around them, which had Wren clenching her sword even tighter. She was sure that even she couldn't fight whatever was coming up. Hopefully it was some kind of peaceful sea creature. One could only hope.

"It's huge!" Usopp said. "Anybody just want to run?"

"We can't as long as the others are down below." Wren pointed out.

There was then a sharp tug on the pipes that connected the boys to the ship. The ship jerked as the creature moved even closer, and before they knew it a large sea turtle came up to the surface splashing sea water everywhere.

"Does anybody else see the monster the size of an island in front of us?!" Nami screamed.


	37. Sky Tall Giants

"This could be a problem." Wren said calmly as she looked at the large turtle.

She then glanced towards where Theodosia was in the tangerine trees while sensing her unrest. Wren couldn't blame her. Zoro was just eaten by a giant turtle. Wren then frowned while knowing Luffy and Sanji were eaten as well. But she could still sense all three of them meaning they weren't dead.

"Theodosia, there is no longer any reason to remain in hiding." Wren said. "Join us."

Theodosia immediately jumped from the trees to return to Wren's side with her hand gripping one of her hook swords tightly. Samba rested on her shoulder while worried about the boys as were the others.

"Hmm, I wonder how we should tackle this obstacle." Wren said as Masira's men were crying out for their captain.

"Tackle it?!" Nami asked as she dropped to her knees to hold onto Wren. "Don't you see that one tooth is the size of our boat?! We're done for, Wren!"

Wren sighed then looked down at Usopp and Chopper, who was in his smaller point, as they clung to her legs like frightened children as well.

"There's no monster, right, Wren?!" Usopp asked as he turned his head from the scene. "This is just one big stupid dream that we're having together for some reason!"

"A dream, right!" Chopper was quick to agree.

The cowardly trio then let out sighs of relief as if the danger as passed while leaning into Wren.

"Just a dream." They said.

However, their calm didn't last long since Robin decided to speak up about the obvious problem they had at hand.

"You know, our boys just got eaten." Robin said.

"Yes, and considering one of the boys is our captain, I do see this as a problem." Wren added.

They needed to find a way to get the boys from the turtle's mouth and back onto the safety of the boat.

"That ship we tried to salvage was eaten as well." Robin said looking to Wren.

Wren hummed wondering just how much trouble this crew can get into. If it wasn't one thing it was another.

"How can you two be so calm?!" Usopp asked as he jumped to his feet.

Nami and Chopper jumped to their feet as well as Theodosia looked to Wren wondering what they were going to do.

"Yep, most definitely eaten." Robin said. "I can see the air hoses dangling from its jaws."

"True, but I still sense their presences even if they are a bit muffled by the large turtle's presence." Wren said. "So we know they're alive. We just have to devise a plan to rescue them."

Theodosia nodded in agreement while ready to do anything to get her crewmates back.

"Should we try attacking it?" Theodosia questioned as Chopper started to run around in a panic.

Samba jumped on top of the tiny doctor's hat as he ran around screaming about the boys being eaten.

"No that might only cause it to submerge, which wouldn't help the boys or us considering we're attached to those air hoses as well." Wren said.

Theodosia nodded in agreement as Usopp turned to point an accusing finger at Nami.

"This is all your fault." Usopp said. "You're the one who said it'd be safe at the bottom of the Grand Line. And you!"

He turned to point a finger at Wren who blinked wondering what she had done.

"You happily sent them to their doom just to get the information you wanted!" Usopp said. "Now look! They're gone!"

Wren and Nami were silent for a moment before exchanging a glance with each other. They then looked towards deck.

"You're right." Nami said with Wren nodding in agreement.

Usopp's eyes widened in their quick acknowledgement of their mistakes while seeing what looked like true remorse on their faces as they looked up at the turtle.

"Sorry/My apologies." Nami and Wren said in unison with no sign of remorse anywhere.

Usopp hit the deck in tears though supposed that was about as good as it was going to get. Of course, those two devils weren't really sorry about what they did. They're evil. Suddenly the turtle started to move, which caused the Going Merry to go with it. Some of the others tripped over due to the tug, but Wren remained on her feet while frowning. This wasn't good at all.

"If we don't cut the air hoses that beast will drag us down to the bottom of the ocean." Robin warned.

"I don't care what you do!" Usopp said. "Just do something! You're the super smart lady! And, Wren, you're the super scary one! Scare the monster away!"

Wren's brow quirked as she had her arms cross over her chest. She was so scary that she could scare a monster? She wasn't sure if she be flattered or insulted. However, now isn't really a good time to ponder over his comment.

"Give me a minute." Robin said as both ships started to be dragged. "I'll see what I can come up with."

The ships continued to be dragged along as the turtle moved forward with obviously no intention of staying put.

"Unfortunately we don't have a minute." Wren said. "The beast is just moving forward at the moment, but it's only a matter of time before it decides to dive back under the water."

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all gulped fearing they were getting less and less time to do anything as Wren and Robin debated on what to do.

"I understand we can't necessarily fight it, but what if we just startle it a bit?" Theodosia asked. "Enough for it to loosen its hold on the ship?"

Wren and Robin looked to consider this idea as Masira's men all prepared to fight and get their captain back. Usopp listened to them while inspired by their bravery to safe their captain.

"They're right." He said. "It's these challenging times that proves the strength in which we are made!"

"Usopp!" Nami called.

"Yeah?!" He asked expecting her to have some idea of attack.

"Cut the air hoses and get us out of here!" Nami ordered.

Usopp fell face first into the deck out of shock as Chopper's mouth fell agape not believing her words. Theodosia sweat-dropped though wasn't that surprised.

"This is what we're made of?!" Usopp asked.

"Coward!" Chopper accused.

Nami didn't seem that offended by being called a coward as she crossed her arms waiting for her order to be carried out. Wren sighed though supposed they did need to hurry and do something. However, before she could suggest something, darkness suddenly fell over the entire ship. Her eyes widened at the sudden change as she stiffened with her hand already on the hilt of her sword.

"What is that?" Usopp asked. "It's like everything got dark."

Wren looked around wondering what the cause could possibly be of this sudden darkness. She didn't sense any threats nearby expect maybe the turtle, but it couldn't be causing this.

"Scary." Chopper murmured as he held Samba close.

"Teky-tek." Samba whimpered holding him back.

Nami frowned in confusion as she looked at her watch to see what the time was.

"There's no way." Nami said. "Why is it so dark? It's not that late."

Nami then looked to Wren wondering if she might be causing this, but Wren was on edge, which wasn't a good sign. It also means this isn't her doing.

"It's time to leave, guys!" Usopp shouted. "Now! Luffy, Zoro, Sanji!"

Wren turned towards the edge of the ship while relaxing her stance a bit though kept her hand on her sword.

"They're coming." She said.

Usopp looked at her in fright thinking she might have meant some kind of enemy. However, he was proven wrong when Luffy was thrown out of the ocean and onto the deck of the ship.

"Luffy!" the group exclaimed before Nami ran over to him.

She knelt down beside him as he laid on the deck with a large sack tied around his shoulders. It looks as if they did find something.

"Tell me what happened!" Nami demanded as she smacked him repeatedly. "Are you dead? Where are the others?"

"Nami-san, they're right here." Wren said from by the railing.

Nami turned her head and watched as Theodosia and Wren both helped Sanji and Zoro back on board. Theodosia's eyes roamed over Zoro's body to see if he was okay, and besides being soaked, he seemed to be alright. This had her letting out a sigh of relief. Sanji let out a breath before lifting his head to look up at Wren who had a slightly amused smile on her face.

"You gave us all quite the fright, Sanji-san." Wren said.

Sanji grinned in return while just glad to be back. He was so ready to get away from this place.

"Set sail now." Zoro ordered. "We gotta get out of here."

"Yeah, that guy's crazy." Sanji added as he set down the sack he had with him.

Wren blinked in confusion wondering who he meant as Chopper and Usopp just looked so happy at their return. Behind them Nami was expressing her happiness by repeatedly slapping their captain and asking him question after question.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Usopp said. "Now let's get away from this stinking turtle as fast as can."

"No," Zoro said as he pointed at Usopp. "It wasn't a turtle. It is was a monkey."

Oh, he must be speaking of Masira. Wren will admit that she is a bit curious as to where the monkey man went.

"Yeah, bona fide sea monkey." Sanji said.

"Can't say I'm surprised he and Luffy got along as well as they did." Zoro added.

"Well, they're both monkeys." Sanji reasoned.

Wren tilted her head wondering if now was the right time to debate their captain's standing in the evolutionary line.

"But when he caught a glimpse of all the stuff we had taken from his ship, he totally flipped out and went on a rampage!" Zoro said.

"I've never seen a primate act like that before." Sanji said.

Wren was starting to think these two were scarred for life after their little encounter with Masira. It had her worried for them, honestly.

"Yes, yes, we can see it was a very traumatic experiences." Wren said. "However, how did you get away from the turtle?"

She has been wanting to know, and she wasn't the only one since Usopp nodded along with what she was saying.

"Why do you guys keep talking about a turtle?" Zoro asked.

Theodosia tugged on his shirt to get his attention before pointing behind him and Sanji. Both men turned with their eyes widening when seeing the turtle the size of an island.

"Hmm, his mouth is open now." Wren commented as she stood beside Usopp.

"Yeah, you're right!" Usopp said. "That must have been how they escaped."

Wren nodded because that made complete sense to her. Zoro and Sanji just continued to stare before the little gears in their mind clicked and made a connection.

"We were in that thing's mouth?!" Zoro and Sanji asked in unison.

"Nothing gets past you guys, does it?" Usopp asked sarcastically.

Theodosia looked to Wren as the slightly older girl shook her head almost seeming exasperated.

"How did they not know they were inside its mouth?" Theodosia asked. "The entire ship they were inside was crushed."

"They're idiots." Wren said simply then clapped her hands together. "Well, now that we're all here, I suggest we prepare to leave as quickly as possible. The turtle doesn't bother me. This unsuspected darkness does. The sooner we are away the better."

"Right!" The crew said with the boys—minus Luffy who was unconscious—getting to work.

As they readied the Going Merry, Wren stood on the deck with her hands behind her back. This darkness unnerved her since she couldn't tell the cause. Yes, there were some heavy clouds around, but not enough to cast this much darkness. And she couldn't sense any living thing causing it either, which had her frowning.

"Wren-sama?" Theodosia questioned as she was helping Luffy who still wasn't completely conscious off the deck.

Wren remained quiet at first before finally just turning away from the front of the ship.

"Stay sharp." Wren ordered as she walked down the steps. "We don't know what might happen next."

"Hai!" Theodosia said then followed after Wren while dragging Luffy.

They both made it to the lower deck as the boys continued to work. Theodosia was about to set Luffy down to help, but their captain finally came to. He gave a cough before looking around in confusion.

"Hey, when did night happen?" Luffy asked.

"Captain, glad you're away." Theodosia said grinning.

Luffy blinked looking at her still not sure what was going on as he stood up on his own.

"Attention, all hands!" Zoro shouted. "We're getting out of here now."

A shape then flew out of the water with a shout probably to attack, but Wren, who already sensed him coming, snapped her fingers. The moment the snap sounded, Theodosia disappeared in a blur causing the crew to gasp as the blur that was Theodosia hit the figure coming out of the water. Theodosia twisted in the air and drew one of her swords as she planted her feet into the back of Masira, who had been the one to pop out of the water. She twisted one of his arms behind his back then slammed him into the deck with the pointedly curved end of her sword pressed dangerously close to his neck.

"Holy—!" Nami gasped in shock.

Masira grunted not believing the position he was in as he as easily overpowered by a little girl.

"Captain!" His men called out in worry.

Masira wanted to tell his men not to worry, but the sharp edge already poking against his skin had him remaining as still as possible.

"Well done, Theodosia." Wren said as she walked forward to stop in front of the downed Masira and Theodosia who was now sitting on his back.

Theodosia bowed her head with her gaze completely different from her usually warm-eyed gaze. Zoro actually felt his heart stop for a second when seeing the cold as steel look in her eyes that showed she'd finish off the prey she had captured for her mistress. She might not act like it, but Theodosia was a dangerous woman.

"Sorry about the rough treatment." Wren said. "However, we don't have time to be squabbling with you. We plan to leave before anything else happens. So let us return you to your ship, so we all can be on our way."

She said this with a pleasantly polite smile, but coupled with the almost sinister curl of her eye and the darkness around them, it only made her look like a monster. A monster in the form of a beautiful woman. Masira gulped actually fearing for his life. When he made no move to retaliate, Wren nodded to Theodosia. In a flash, Theodosia was off of Masira and sending him flying with a strong toss back to his ship. He landed on the deck with his men happy to have him back.

"Captain!" They cheered.

As they rejoiced his return, Theodosia placed her sword back where it belonged as Wren looked to the crew.

"We should probably leave quickly." Wren said. "This darkness doesn't set well with me."

Before the crew could agree, Samba started freaking out and chittering as she jumped up and down on the deck. The crew turned towards her as she continued her fit while pointing towards behind the crew.

"What's wrong with her?" Nami asked looking concerned for the monkey. "Chopper?"

"She said there's monsters behind us." Chopper said then realized what he said. "Monsters?!"

The entire crew whirled around with their eyes widening when seeing the hundred foot shadow figures behind them. Theodosia gasped while certain she's never even seen giants that tall. Wren felt her heart stop for a moment because how could creatures so big get so close without tripping her haki senses. It should be impossible. Everyone else—even Masira's crew—just kept staring in fear before Luffy and Masira broke the stillness.

"Monsters!" They shouted snapping everyone out of their stupor.

Everyone hurried into action with the guys bringing out the oars to start paddling out of there. As they hurried away, Wren kept her eyes on the shadow figures feeling no life from them. What was all that? An illusion?

* * *

Once the crew was far enough way, the crew sat around the Going Merry's deck to catch their breaths. Wren sat on the stairs a bit a way's away from the others with a thoughtful look on her face. Those "monsters" were still bothering her. She's never met a monster or other being for that matter that had no presence. So they couldn't have been real, could they?

"That couldn't have been real." Zoro said breaking the silence amongst the crew.

"Those things were taller than the sky." Usopp whimpered.

Wren's brows furrowed as she crossed one leg over the other. There had to be some explanation. Even if things on the Grand Line seem impossible at first there is always some explanation even if it isn't a logical one. Sanji just let out a sigh as he lit a new cigarette. He took a puff from it then let out the smoke.

"The Grand Line is an endless parade of mysteries and annoyances." Sanji said. "I mean, just look at the nightmare of making it through today."

"First there was that huge galleon that fell from the clouds on top of us." Zoro said.

"The Log Pose's needle started pointing towards the sky." Nami added.

"A psycho makeup wearing monkey shows up and blocks our way." Usopp continued.

"And then a gigantic sea turtle came and ate our salvage ship." Chopper said.

"Then darkness fell." Robin carried on.

"Because the biggest monsters I've ever seen in my life blocked out the sun." Luffy finished.

It was definitely an eventful day. One the Straw Hat Pirates would never forget.

"I wish I could say it gets better, but it doesn't." Theodosia said with a sigh as she cradled Samba in her arms.

Samba chittered along with her master as if in agreement while just seeming glad to have a moment's rest. The crew grew silent for a moment before Wren finally stood getting all their attentions.

"Wren-chan?" Sanji murmured. "Is something wrong, darling?"

Wren didn't seem to really hear him as she tilted her head with a thoughtful look on her face.

"None of this makes sense." Wren said mostly to herself. "No sense at all. Need more information."

She kept muttering to herself with the crew watching her curiously. They've never seen her even slightly stumped before, but it seems as if she doesn't like being unsure of something. Or lacking so much information.

"Wren, what's wrong?" Nami asked.

Wren stopped muttering while turning to look to her crewmates who were watching her. She then sighed while tilting her head to the other side.

"Things do not add up." Wren said. "Those creatures shouldn't have been able to sneak up on us. I should have sensed those things seconds before they even appeared. Yet I sensed nothing even when they were right in front of me, I couldn't tell what their purpose was for being there."

It grew silent amongst the crew since that was odd. With Wren's haki sensing those monsters should have been easy. Unless they had a way to keep themselves hidden from haki, which was something Nami didn't even want to think about.

"Now that you mention it, I didn't sense anything either, Wren-sama." Theodosia said. "It was as if those creatures weren't even there."

"But how can that be possible?" Usopp asked. "We all saw them with our own eyes."

"I'm not sure what we saw." Wren said. "However, I don't believe we were in actual danger back there. But I cannot be certain until we know more."

She looked to Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy while placing her hands on her hips. The three of them blinked in return.

"Now, gentlemen, if you would be so kind to show the group what exactly you learned from that wreckage, I would be extremely pleased." Wren said with a smile.

Sanji was quick to snap up onto his feet while saluting Wren as if she was a commanding officer.

"Yes, ma'am!" Sanji said. "Anything for you! And when you see what I have brought, I will surely get that kiss~"

"Hmm, perhaps." Wren said. "If you brought back anything useful."

Sanji nodded while still looking lovey-dovey as he twirled in place.

* * *

"This…is all _useless_." Wren said as she looked at the collection of junk that the boys had brought back.

Nami nodded in agreement with an annoyed frown on her face as the two women stood side-by-side. Zoro nearly rolled his eyes. How did he not notice how much alike the two of them were earlier?

"Come on, you guys." Nami said. "Tell us you at least tried to find something down there we could actually use."

Wren saw nothing of importance from where she stood, but Luffy, who was strutting around in rusted armor, seemed pleased with their haul.

"All you brought back was a bunch of scattered junk." Nami said. "There's not a single clue here about how to get to Sky Island."

Which means they haven't learned anything new at all. This bothered Wren. She was so used to having the information she wanted almost at the snap of her fingers. Of course, she had to remind herself that her crewmates weren't trained like her informants. They didn't know what to look for, or know what might have more value than what it seems at first glance. She supposed she'd just have to live with what she can get now. Though still…it almost had her breaking out in hives at how little progress they were making.

"There wasn't anything there, believe me." Zoro said. "We looked."

"Yep, if there was something else down there, we would have found it." Sanji added.

He then took another drag from his cigarette before letting out a small wisp of smoke.

"The ship was in terrible shape." Sanji continued to explain. "All jacked up as it if had maybe been attacked and raided. Or perhaps a mutiny had broken out, and they had all killed each other in a violent struggle for power and survival."

Wren frowned because if she had been able to go down there, she might have been able to deduce if it was a raid or a mutiny. Another reason why she wanted to see what was inside the ship in person.

"Look around, boys, this is exactly why we need more information!" Nami said. "If we've learned anything from Wren it's intelligence can mean life or death for this whole crew! Have you not been paying attention?!"

Theodosia sweat-dropped while leaning back away from the angered redhead as she and Samba watched from the sidelines. Nami could be scary.

"We do need to learn more." Wren said with a slight sigh. "Considering what did happen to that crew and its ship, we could face many dangers once reaching Sky Island—if we even reach it. We don't even have enough information to give us a clue as to reach the island above us in the sky."

Nami nodded affirmatively with what Wren was saying as Wren rested her elbow in the palm of her hand then her chin in her other palm.

"And we definitely can't get any clues from all this junk!" Nami screamed in frustration.

She started kicking and stomping on it, which had Sanji and Zoro freaking out since they were nearly killed by a monkey and eaten by a turtle to get that stuff. Wren sighed shaking her head before looking to Luffy as he stopped in front of Wren and Nami.

"What is that, Luffy?" Nami asked.

Luffy pushed open the slit in the armor to reveal his face while looking pleased with himself.

"Armor." He answered simply.

He didn't get a chance to say anything else since Nami gave one of her famous punches, which sent Luffy and the armor crashing onto the deck. And due to the armor's fragileness it shattered easily. Still…it was a bit scary how strong Nami could be when she put her mind to it.

"Whoa, she crushed the armor!" Zoro exclaimed.

As Luffy laid stun on the deck, Wren turned away while pinching the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache. All this lack of information was really getting to her. If only Lily had been around, he could have dived down into the ship himself to retrieve the information they needed. She does love her crew of misfits, but right now she could use a moment onto herself.

"Wren-chan~" Sanji called causing her to actually flinch. "Look, darling, I brought back some lovely sea shells for you~"

Wren turned to look at Sanji, who was smiling ear to ear, as he held up his hands to show the pretty sea shells. Wren felt her brow twitch in annoyance. He could bring her back sea shells, but nothing useful?

"Sanji-san," She began sweetly.

"Yes, my sweet?" He asked leaning in.

"I normally don't say such things since it would be unladylike." Wren said. "But could you perhaps…cram those sea shells up your shorts?"

She then walked away shaking her head while supposing they would have to find another way to get the information they wanted. She started walking up the stairs towards Robin as Theodosia was trying to calm Nami who was still steaming mad.

"Bad day, huh?" Robin asked with a small smile on her face.

"Yes, it has been a bit… _tiring_." Wren said sighing.

Robin chuckled while seeing how Wren was trying to keep her temper in check. Robin then pulled out the log pose she has been keeping since before they hurried away from those monsters.

"Perhaps this will cheer you up." Robin said holding it out to Wren.

Wren blinked then took the log pose from Robin to see it was an eternal pose to an island known as Jaya. Wren's eyes widened a bit because she knew that island. The island that was rumored to hold the city of gold. The island where Noland the Liar supposedly made a great discovery, but it had turned out to be false. It was a story she had heard often as a child in the North Blue, and later on she had learned Jaya was the island that Noland had taken the king to find the city of gold. However, when they had gotten there they had found nothing. However, knowing that any clues that could point to Sky Island could be found at that island of all places was intriguing.

"Well, things have become a bit more interesting." Wren said.


	38. The Town of Mockery

"Looks like we're finally making progress." Wren said as the island of Jaya came into view.

It's been a while since Wren has been to Jaya. The last time she was here she had just been entering her teenage years.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Wren walked calmly through the streets of Mock Town as pirates and criminals alike bustled about causing no good as usual. She was to meet a client here to collect the money they owe to the Donquixote Family. She had Gladius with her this time around, and he walked slightly behind her like a bodyguard._

 _"This place hasn't changed at all." Wren commented looking bored as someone screamed out for help before gunshots followed._

 _She then had to step back as a person was thrown in her path and stumbled to the ground with a large gash in his stomach._

 _"Still barbaric as ever." She said while calmly stepping over the dying man as if he wasn't there._

 _She even ignored him when he had begged for her help. He was the one who decided to come to this town. If you couldn't survive here, you shouldn't dock your ship here in her opinion._

 _"I think there is a good reason why our client called us here." Gladius said already starting to sound worked up._

 _"Most definitely." Wren said. "He called us here because he probably knows he can easily pay the men here to try and kill us to get out of his debt. Funny how he can afford to pay people to kill us, but not pay off his debt."_

 _Gladius huffed in reply while already ready to start blowing things up and teaching their client a lesson he'll never forget. If he so much as looks at them wrong, Gladius will use his Devil Fruit abilities on that funny hat the guy seems to like wearing to make his head go splat. Wren then stopped outside the establishment known as the Wild Cherry since this is where they were meant to meet the client._

 _She just stood there for a second while already feeling the presences of many, many others inside. She wasn't too worried though as she opened up the door. As soon as she poked her head in, a gun was fired with the bullet grazing across Wren's cheek it draw blood. Wren sighed looking more annoyed than scared._

 _"I suppose this means you've decided not to pay." Wren said as her hand touched the hilt of her sword. "Very well. I was looking for something more exciting to do anyway."_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

That day half of Mock Town had been destroyed and left to burn to the ground because of one stupid man's decision. It had also made sure everyone in the town knew not to fuck with the Donquixote Pirates— _especially_ the executives.

"Let's just hope things don't end as they had last time." Wren said to herself.

She then looked down from the crow's nest as Usopp, Chopper and Luffy were getting excited over the town's lush appearance. They'll change their opinions once they realize what this town is really like. Well, Luffy might still be excited, but the others not so much.

"Let's hurry up and dock!" Luffy said patting Merry's head.

He was ready to look around, and see what exciting things this town had to offer.

"It does looking promising." Nami said. "Maybe we can even stay here a while."

"I wouldn't suggest that." Theodosia said as she sat on the railing with Samba on top her head.

The crew looked back at the gypsy as she was looking at the town with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Why not, Theo?" Nami asked. "It's been a while since we've got to relax."

"I know, but you don't want to be relaxing in this town." Theodosia said. "Besides, don't we need to try and leave as soon as possible, so the log pose doesn't change?"

Nami frowned because that was true, but she still didn't understand what was so bad about this town. She then looked to Wren who had jumped down from the crow's nest while seeming to forget she promised Nami to never do that again. Nami frowned silently though said nothing since the older woman knew what her own limitations were.

"It's dangerous here." Wren said as she walked up the steps to meet the others. "Yes, it's a resort like town, but it's full of criminals and pirates. Do you see all those pirate ships just so casually docked and without a marine in sight?"

She pointed to all the ships with intimidating figure heads and flying Jolly Rodgers. They were all docked in the town's actual docks, which was unusual since pirates usually had to dock away from the town or be run out of it. Or have the chance of the marines catching them.

"Yeah," Usopp said. "I had thought that was strange. Are you saying pirates are welcomed here?"

"I am saying that there's no real law here, so pirates take advantage of it and run amuck." Wren said. "People die here, and just get tossed in a ditch to rot with no one even caring who they were or if they had any family waiting for them at home."

As if to prove her point, someone called out for help since someone was trying to kill them. However, after a screech of pain, it all went silent, which had Nami, Usopp, and Chopper freaking out.

"What the heck is going on with this crazy town?!" The three of them demanded.

They haven't even docked, and they were ready to leave as soon as possible. Nami might even forget about having to collect the important information she needed. The ship finally made it to the dock with Wren looking out. There were a lot of people out there, and many of them had pretty loud _voices_. That means they were dangerous, but none of them seemed to be too dangerous for their crew.

"Yeah, time to go ashore!" Luffy said while jumping past Wren to land on the dock below.

Zoro was right behind him with a big grin on his face while looking forward to look around. Maybe he could find a bar with a lot of booze and get into a few good fights. Luffy wanted to do the same most likely, but with meat rather than booze.

"Now this looks like my kind of town." Luffy said as he and Zoro walked forward.

"We'll have no problem fitting in here." Zoro added.

Wren shook her head knowing those boys would find more trouble than information.

"There's no way." Nami said. "Do you think those two can last an hour and not get into any trouble?"

Wren looked down at the redhead as she, Usopp, and Chopper were crouched around her feet watching the boys go through the safety of the railing.

"Well, by the looks of this place, I'd say fifteen minutes is a generous assumption." Usopp said.

"I'd have to agree with you, Usopp-san." Wren said smiling in slight amusement. "Fifteen minutes really is a generous assumption, so I give them three."

She held up three fingers with Nami frowning as she really wondered if the boys wouldn't be able to control themselves. She wanted to go after them, but at the same time it sounded scary.

"Theodosia." Wren called out to the gypsy.

She appeared at Wren's side in an instant while ready to hear her orders from her mistress.

"Please, go along with Luffy-sama and Zoro-san." Wren said. "Make sure they stay on task and don't cause too much trouble."

"Yes, Wren-sama." Theodosia said nodding.

She then jumped over the railing to land on the dock with her swords at her hips and Samba on her shoulder.

"Zoro, Luffy, please wait!" She called after them.

The two paused while turning to wait for Theodosia to catch up to them. Once the three were together, they continued on into town.

"Ya know, I'm kind of surprised you're not going, Wren." Nami said as she stood up. "You are the queen of information gathering."

"Hmm, thank-you for the compliment." Wren said chuckling. "However, as the _queen of information_ , I know better to go into a town I'd be instantly recognized in because it makes it hard to collect information unnoticed when everyone notices you."

The cowardly trio blinked and tilted their heads curiously as they looked towards Wren. Her smile turned slightly impish as she looked to her crewmates.

"Let's just say that when I was in Mock Town last, half of the town was burning and falling apart." Wren said. "I'm not exactly welcomed here."

Her crewmates' mouths dropped open in shock while forgetting for a second just how dangerous Wren was before she so kindly reminded them. They all crawled back away from her while murmuring "Wren is scary" repeatedly causing her to chuckle.

"Well, that's alright, my dear!" Sanji said as he joined them. "We can enjoy time together after I whip up some tea along with something sweet for you."

"Yes, that does sound lovely." Wren said as she was walking past Sanji. "Thank-you, Sanji-san. Just allow me to freshen up."

She pat his chest as she was saying this in passing, and Sanji nearly turned into goo right then. Wren continued on while going down into the women's quarters where Robin was preparing for departure.

"I see you are going to try and find yourself some clothes." Wren said as Robin was packing some of that money and treasure to take with her. "May I suggest a little clothing store near the far eastside of town?"

Robin looked at Wren curiously while knowing there was a reason the younger woman was suggesting this clothing store.

"It is own by a woman named Ruby." Wren said. "Just tell her that Saturn Wren sent you, and she will let you ask for anything you want. And I do mean _anything_."

Robin smirked while understanding where Wren was getting. Apparently this Ruby has given Wren viable information before, and Wren is wanting Robin to go there to see what she could pick up if their other party happens to fail. Robin didn't mind especially since buying clothing was also an option. It'd be killing two birds with one stone.

"I see." Robin said. "Thank-you for telling me. I will be sure to check the place out."

Wren nodded then wished Robin safe travels through the town before leaving the older woman alone. As Wren started walking up the steps to get above, she hoped the boys didn't cause too much trouble for Theodosia as she watched over them.

* * *

With Luffy and the others, the three pirates walked through Mock Town as the people continued on with their normal day. And a normal day for Mock Town was people openly committing crimes in the streets, which seemed to have Zoro and Luffy excited.

"I got my tough face on!" Luffy said. "So if anybody—!"

"No, Luffy!" Theodosia said lightly pulling on his ear. "We can't start a ruckus."

Samba nodded her head and chittered in agreement causing Luffy to whine a bit. He just wanted to fight a little bit. That wouldn't be too big of a deal, right?

"Promise you won't start fighting, please." Theodosia added.

"Alright, fine, I promise." Luffy said pouting.

Maybe later once they get all the information they needed, Theodosia will let them have a bit of fun.

"You too, Zoro." Theodosia said pointing at him.

"Whatever." The swordsman replied not even looking at her.

Theodosia felt like crying while certain these two would forget all about their promise, and start a fight any second. Then Wren would be upset they couldn't even do one little simple task. It was like Theodosia was assigned to work with newbies who didn't understand failing Wren was a one way ticket to meeting her wrath-and at that point Hell would be more pleasant. Besides, Wren was _really_ scary when she was really mad. She's never harmed any of her informants, but she didn't have to. And her wrath has never been turned towards Theodosia, but she's seen how scary Wren could be against her little flunkies. Just witnessing it was enough to give someone nightmares.

"Listen, just please hold off on the fighting until after we get the information we need." Theodosia asked. "It's kind of hard to get information while you're fighting people we could ask for information. Once we're done and finish reporting to Wren-sama, we'll have time to fight later as she takes the information and forms a plan with it. Then everyone is happy, understand?"

The two boys gave less than encouraging replies again, which had Theodosia hanging her head. She probably should have went off on her own. Too late now though. The group then stopped when a man suddenly fell off his horse into their path. Theodosia frowned getting a bad feeling from this guy even if he looked so sickly that he could die in any second. Still she felt on guard as her hand moved to rest on the hilt of one of her swords. Zoro noticed the movement with his brow quirking. Did she see some kind of danger in this man that he and Luffy didn't?

"Looks like he fell off his horse." Luffy said.

Yeah, his horse that looked taller than the building they were standing next to. Or perhaps Theodosia was mistaken. Either way it was much bigger than a regular horse.

"That's gotta hurt." Zoro added.

He didn't move to help the man though since he didn't care, and because Theodosia's wariness had him a bit on guard as well. The man coughed while looking up at the three.

"Looks like he's in pain too." Luffy said.

"No doubt." Zoro said as the two still didn't move.

If it was some other poor man, Theodosia probably would have chided the two for being so unsympathetic and letting him lie there. But this man was dangerous. She could feel that to her very core.

"Hey, sorry to bother you," The old man began. "But will you help me up?"

"What are you not in the mood to help yourself?" Zoro asked.

He glanced at Theodosia again who narrowed her eyes as her hand gripped the handle of her hook sword even tighter. This man had her on edge. That meant he had to be dangerous. But he was kind of in their way. He sighed guessing that putting him on his horse wasn't going to hurt anything.

"Luffy, give me a hand." Zoro said.

"Sure." Luffy said.

Zoro glanced back at Theodosia with their eyes meeting. A silent message passed between them, and Theodosia nodded. If the man made one wrong move, she'd have him ended before he could hurt any of them. The two men grabbed the fallen old man then unceremoniously threw him back into his horse.

"Oh, look at that, I'm on my horse again." He said. "I was a sickly child growing up, and never got better. Now let's get out of here, Stronger."

The horse didn't look like it was going anywhere since its front legs buckled causing it to fall to the ground along with its head, which it couldn't keep up.

"The horse too?" The boys asked in unison.

Zoro was starting to think this man wasn't a threat at all, but when he glanced back at Theodosia, she was still on edge. What could she tell about this man that he couldn't? Had it something to do with her haki? The horse finally managed to get up right again though looked as if it might keel over at a moment notice's too.

"Thanks again, pal." The old man said. "You know, I don't have enough money for a reward these days, but care for an apple?"

"Do you take us for idiots?" Zoro asked. "We'd never trust food from someone like you."

Zoro seemed to be mistaken though since Luffy happily reached for an apple. However, the second he touched it Theodosia had her hook sword out to hit the apple out of Luffy's hand as Samba jumped off her shoulder onto Zoro's to get out of the way. Luffy whined in complaint as Theodosia caught the apple in the curve of her sword then tossed it as far as she could away.

"Theo, what's the big idea?!" Luffy answered as she then turned her sword on the man.

To answer his question an explosion went off in the direction that the apple had landed. People gasped in shock, and Zoro's eyes widened as he now realized why the man was dangerous. Zoro then turned to glare at the old man as he grabbed the hilt of his Wado Ichimonji.

"You bastard." Zoro growled as Samba held onto his head thinking things might get rough.

The old man just chuckled as the two young pirates glared at him as Luffy was just blinking in the background.

"How lucky to have a friend who could sense my intentions." The old man said. "Very lucky."

He then had his horse hobble away out of sight, and Theodosia didn't stop him. She placed her sword back where it belonged while getting out of her stance.

"We're just going to let him go?" Zoro asked.

"There's no point in going after him." Theodosia said. "As long as he didn't a problem for us, let him be someone else's problem."

Samba then jumped back onto her shoulder, which had her smiling at the monkey and petting her head. She then started walking again with the boys following after her. She had to hurry up and get somewhere with a lot of people more interested in chatting than brawling, which was hard to find in Mock Town. Here everyone wanted to fight. However, a place that could always bring some kind of information is a bar or restaurant and there were plenty of those here. Just which one to choose from?

Wren usually did her business at the Wild Cherry. The owner there always welcomed her no matter how many things were broken during her many transactions there. Of course, Wren tried to take most of the more violent business outside the pub for the owner's sake since he was so kind to let her do business in his establishment. Didn't stop the pub from taking a few beatings though. However, Theodosia was sure the owner didn't feel any ill will towards Wren now. She was sure she could mention her, and he help out in any way that he can. Because he didn't help Wren out just because she was part of Doflamingo's crew back then, so her not being a part of it now shouldn't make a difference.

Theodosia came out of her thoughts as a beaten up body fell in her path as some man was laughing loudly on top of a roof. Her brow quirked at him as she took in his large form and wrestling mask. He didn't seem familiar, so she would guess he wasn't exactly anyone famous. Though can she really be expected to remember all the "big shots" of Mock Town? She decided to keep walking with her two crewmates following along as well.

"Oh, great," A bystander, who also saw the man, said to his companion. "Look who's back."

Well, apparently he was known around here, but he obviously wasn't a crowd favorite.

"How many victims has he racked up now?" His friend asked.

His friend shrugged looking more annoyed than worried at the presence of the man.

"It's not like he's a famous fugitive or anything." The first man said. "Who do you think he is?"

They don't know his name then? Must be some kind of newcomer, but if he continues to cause so much trouble, Theodosia was sure they'd learn his name eventually. She was a bit curious, but her task was to learn about Sky Island not the troublemakers of Mock Town.

"I don't care, and to be honest I don't wanna know." The second man said. "If that meathead wants to be the fighting champion then go ahead and let him."

The second those words left the man's mouth, Luffy and Zoro turned around looking angry and raring to go. Theodosia gave a huff and a pout wondering why the man had to say something like that while they were walking by. Now those two were distracted again.

"Fighting champion?" The asked in unison.

"No, no!" Theodosia said reaching back to grab their arms. "We don't have time to be picking fights with nobodies. Besides, this guy is obviously a self-proclaimed fighting champion, which means defeating him would mean nothing! Do you really want to be known as men who fought for nothing?"

The two frowned and grumbled though let Theodosia pull them away as Samba shook her head as if in disappointment at the two. Theodosia then sighed as she wished Wren was here. She'd know how to get these two to stay focused. The group walked around for a bit longer until they came to the more resort side of town. Theodosia stopped outside the Tropical Resort while narrowing her eyes. She wasn't sure about stepping inside this place, but maybe they'd actually find people who'd sit down and speak with them.

"What about this place?" Zoro asked as they stepped in.

"It might be promising." Theodosia said when a flag hanging on one of the buildings caught her eye.

Zoro looked down at the gypsy girl when she stiffened with her eyes widening. Zoro frowned in confusion before looking at the mark. It appeared to be a Jolly Rodger of some sort. The circular Jolly Rodger was smiling, but across it was a cancelation mark. It wasn't one Zoro's never seen before, but it seemed to mean something to Theodosia. Before he could ask her what was wrong, a voice called out to them.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

The group turned seeing a man tiptoeing around the place while ducking behind things as he made his way towards them.

"I'm going to have to ask you all to leave, please." He said as the boys moved to meet them halfway.

Theodosia remained in place while glancing around as if she was expecting an enemy attack at any moment. Samba, who sensed her unease, looked around as well in case Theodosia missed anything.

"You see the entire motel has been rented out by Bellamy-san and his guests, and he's asked that we tell other guests like yourselves to go somewhere else!" The man explained while making ducking motions as if trying to hide. "So you must understand that I have no say in the matter."

The man then gasped when Theodosia marched right over to grab the front of his shirt to jerk him close. She stared at him with hard golden eyes that caused the man to shake in fear. Luffy and Zoro watched on wondering what had suddenly gotten into her.

"Did you just say Bellamy?" Theodosia asked. "As in the Hyena?"

"Y-yes!" The man stuttered. "So please, leave!"

Theodosia let him go as she stared down at the ground. She had thought a main branch of the Doflamingo Pirates was here, but no. It was just Bellamy and his crew. However, this did pose as a threat because if Bellamy was around, and spotted Wren he could tell Doflamingo where to come and find her. Besides, Wren wasn't a big fan of Bellamy, and Bellamy was always itching for an excuse to get her back for the beat down she had given him when he had first came to join Doflamingo and his crew.

"We need to leave." Theodosia said. "Now."

She started leaving at a brisk pace with the two quickly moving to follow before they could be left behind. As they were leaving, they passed some silvery-blue-haired man and his girl.

"But, Theo, we didn't even try to get any information." Luffy said. "Won't Wren be mad?"

Theodosia hushed him quickly causing him to blink in confusion not knowing what he did wrong. They just kept on going while not noticing the man had stopped to watch them.

"Wren?" He asked. "Could they be talking about who I think?"


	39. VERY IMPORTANT! READ!

Coco: Hey, guys, it's me Coco! Obviously XD

Um, well for those of you who don't know, I recently got a new computer because my last one finally gave up on me. And I lost all my precious info, chapters, and outlines on all my stories. So I'm starting fresh with all my stories. I've already started fresh on my FT story if you don't already know. And I feel like I've made a great improvement on it, and I hope to do that with my other stories. So since I lost all my precious previous work (I have learned my lessons with two copies of everything), I'm starting anew with my stories.

I'm sorry for the long wait to those of you who have been waiting for story updates for what seems like forever. And I thank those of you who have been patient with me. Now there are one or two stories that won't get a complete rewrite since there still freshly new, and aren't that far along in their story. Or I feel like I can pick up where I left off. Like my MHA story and my Naruto story, which I'll try to be updating shortly. Work is a little busy though since I'm covering my shifts and the shifts of one of the other girls who is on vacation. However, my own vacation is coming up in June, which is when I hope to get a large portion of this all done.

It is going to take time and a lot of work, so please give me a bit more patience XD I just hope you like what I come up with next and it isn't a disappointment


	40. STORY REWRITE UPDATE!

Coco: Hey, guys, it's Coco here with a little update for my One Piece story. I know I've recently posted that most-if not all my stories were being rewritten. This story is no exception. And it schedule for a rewrite. Well, let me tell you something, this isn't the first One Piece story I've ever tried to write. I've had pervious versions in the past that didn't even involve Wren. In fact, she hadn't even been thought of yet. When I first introduced Wren, she hadn't even been part of the Doflamingo Family or had any role in Law's life. In fact, I believe I introduced her before I even knew Trafalgar Law existed XD Well, anyway, none of my other OCs were welcomed very well by the fans of One Piece. But Wren had been, which made me really happy. I was so determined to get her story right that I rewrote her like three times already this being the fourth.

However, I'm thinking of taking a completely different direction this time around. While I love Wren's story, I think I might have tried to over complicate a few things. So much so that even I was having trouble keeping up with Wren and her deep/complicated backstory. At first I was just going to change a few things to her story. Now, I'm not sure how to write her story. I'm thinking about taking her back to scratch. Giving her no connections to anyone in canon. Just a clean slate. But would she be Wren anymore if I did that? Does that call for a completely new OC? I mean, any resemblance to the old story is going to be gone no matter what. I don't think I can work Wren's story, which is so rooted into Law's yet still keep her in the Straw Hats. She'd miss so much time with the crew especially right before the time skip and after. And I just can't find the right balance between her life as a former member of the Doflamingo Pirates and now a member of the Straw Hat Pirates.

What's so great about the Straw Hats is most of them are rookies when it comes to pirating except for Brook and I guess Nami who was a pirate in Arlong's crew even if not by choice. I guess, what I'm saying is that I kind of want to make Wren new to pirating as well. I want to give her a dream like her crewmates and I guess I just want to make her completely from scratch. And in doing so I feel like I'm giving up Wren all together because with so many changes, she can't possibly remain the Wren you've all read about up until this point.

But I'm also very undeceive. Wren's the only One Piece OC people have really welcomed out of all the ones I've made in the past. What if the latest one I come up with displeases people? Maybe it wasn't really my OCs that were the problem, but my previous writing style. I'm not really sure, but I do know that I've been trying so hard for a long time to write a One Piece story I can be happy with. So, I don't want to give up now. But what should I do? Keep Wren and revamp her story? Try one of my old OCs? Though it's not like I have any their information left from before since my computer decided to be a butt and quit on me. So should I make a new OC? Well, I'm going to do a poll soon. I'm going to give three to four new OC options. One will be Wren completely remade. One will be an old OC, who will probably have changed drastically since I'm trying to remember everything from member, and one-or two will be a new OC. The pairing choices might also vary. Since I have tried for Zoro/OC stories before.

It'll take me a little time to get everything set up. Once I'm done I'll upload their profiles here for you guys to read. You can then tell me which one your most interested in reading about. I'll make up a poll then. I'm sorry for those of you who really love Wren and her story. But I hope you like whatever I come up with next.

Thank-you for your time!


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